19 - Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld.

Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld. A Chanel Boutique vivid pink wool skirt suit, circa mid-to-late 1980s, comprising a double-breasted jacket of softly structured form, with an oversized notched collar, six gilt buttons, broad turn-back cuffs, and low-set flap pockets, together with a matching straight skirt; lined in pink silk, labelled Chanel Boutique, of 100% wool, of French size 46. Please note that the Vetement Spa label is missing from the lot. Grade B-C Provenance: An Important Private Collection. Notes: Karl Lagerfeld’s arrival at Chanel in 1983 marked a significant reinvention of the house’s established vocabulary. Rather than abandoning the classic Chanel suit, Lagerfeld exaggerated and reinterpreted its familiar elements—gold buttons, strong tailoring and contrasting proportions—introducing a more graphic and assertive silhouette suited to the decade. The present ensemble is characteristic of this early Lagerfeld-era approach. Its saturated pink wool gives the traditional skirt suit an unusually bold presence, while the dramatically enlarged collar, broad shoulders and wide turned-back cuffs amplify the proportions of the jacket. Six gilt buttons provide the characteristic Chanel contrast of colour and metallic ornament, balanced by the large, low-set pockets and relatively clean construction of the matching skirt. Bright pink became an important recurring colour within Lagerfeld’s Chanel collections during the 1980s, appearing across tailoring, eveningwear and accessories. Comparable runway ensembles from the mid-to-late 1980s combine vivid pink with prominent gilt hardware and exaggerated tailoring, demonstrating Lagerfeld’s increasingly playful treatment of the house codes. Cf. Chanel runway collections, circa 1985–88, for comparable vivid pink tailoring, oversized proportions, and gilt-button detailing.