you are here >>>SHOW OFF>spotlight on>dead women you should know about
Chanel's tres chic couch was taupe suede and located in private apartments above the shop. Here Mademoiselle was often photographed reclining on the sofa against a backdrop of exotic screens, surrounded by leather-bound books, ornate mirrors and elegant tchotchkes.
The atelier (workshop) was also located upstairs. Here, Chanel and her worker-bees hand-made the expensive haute-couture togs.
Chanel herself never sketched her designs, or sewed. Her tools were scissors and pins. She was a master at draping fabric, pinning and cutting it on live mannequins, who would patiently stand before her, repeatedly test-driving the garment by moving their arms up and down, pacing back and forth, then standing still for hours and hours, day after day, in a grueling process that resulted in extremely wearable clothes made for real women who moved.