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About the Issue Welcome
to the 73rd edition of B. Why
dont you cover fashion brands? Until a few years ago, we used to get this
question from readers or friends frequently. Of course, we have covered various
brands of bags, shoes, and sunglasses since the inaugural edition of Magazine
B, but it was only recently that we started to study brands dedicated to
fashion in the classical sense of high fashion brands who play pivotal
roles in leading and setting trends for the fashion industry. We became even
more acquainted with fashion when we introduced MaisonMargiela and Acne
Studios. But in this edition, we introduce Chanel, a brand that spans across an
entire spectrum of fashion, cosmetics, and fine jewelry. We looked at the
brands past, how it was conceived and evolved over the years, and we looked at
how it currently influences all aspects of the luxury goods industry. Nowadays,
young consumers are attracted to small and distinct concept brands called
niche brands or brands operating in the form of studios, collectives, and
labs. In this context, what does it mean to talk about Chanel, the fashion
empire? It is interesting to note that Gabrielle Chanel was a rebel who broke
all the rules and conventions when she created Chanel in the early 20th
century. First and foremost, she was not a man but a woman who designed for
herself rather than for a muse. She brought modernity to fashion at a time when
corsets and elaborate decorations were still all the rage. She was inspired by
many things around her and used them as symbols, like the double C logo, or
taking numbers like 5 and 2.55 to name her perfumes and handbags, showing how
far ahead of her time she truly was. Gabrielle
Chanel was an experimentalist and revolutionist, but at the same time a
romanticist. Here, romance goes beyond the relationship between lovers.
Chanel could see objects around her with love: she drew energy from her
childhood memories, the cities she visited, and new acquaintances, and then she
infused this energy into her creations. Chanel as a brand is a world of tweeds,
pearls, camellia, quilted patterns, lions, and many other impressionable
images. In short, it is a world of symbols. This is the essence of Chanel, the
legacy which Karl Lagerfeld reinterprets and reinvents as esteemed art
director. Despite the stereotype of high fashion being elitist, Chanel exudes a
feeling of optimistic energy thanks to the underlying spirit of founder
Gabrielle Chanel—a spirit born from the creators sense of ownership over her
own life. I
would be remiss to neglect mentioning how Chanel focuses on the monumental
Métiers dArt collections and recognizes these ventures as main drivers for
future business. Through a series of acquisitions, Chanel has formed a coalition
called Paraffectionthat regroups 26 maisons dart and manufacturers
specializing in crafting buttons, feathers, embroidery, goldsmithery, and hats.
These ateliers are a rich source of savoir faire for Chanel, and this
cultivated heritage is brought to life through the creativity of Karl Lagerfeld
and the Creative Studio with each Chanel collection. Some of the artisans
featured in the Chanel Métiers dArt collections maintain a proper brand, and
most of them also work with other luxury fashion houses to keep their
creativity alive and remain competitive. What we witnessed, though, is that
Chanel is still the same spirited pioneer it was 100 years ago, and it
continues to forge new future paths for the whole industry. Chanel understands
that a thriving ecosystem is vital to the success of individual brands. Through
this edition, Ive come to wonder if weve been overlooking the fact that the
new, small brands that excite us today are flourishing in the house that
heritage brands like Chanel built. Eunsung Park Content & Editorial Director
[ó] ŰB () Magazine B, Ű
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