Culture Chanel

Gabrielle Chanel was a friend of the greatest poets, writers, musicians, and artists of her time, as well as an avid reader who found inspiration in literature and poetry. Throughout the famous couturière’s life, the works of Plato, Saint Augustine, Shakespeare, Alexandre Pouchkine, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Thomas Mann, Pierre Reverdy, Max Jacob, Jean Cocteau, and more played a significant role in nurturing her imagination. In Culture Chanel: The Woman Who Reads, author and curator Jean-Louis Froment highlights connections between texts, photographs, paintings, drawings, jewelry, perfume, and clothing designs, revealing an aesthetic language—which can be seen throughout Chanel’s many enduring contributions to the fashion world—in the light of the written words that shaped her life.

About the Author

Jean-Louis Froment is the creator of CAPC, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bordeaux, and the curator of major international exhibitions. Froment conceived and designed the Culture Chanel collection of exhibitions and is the author of the books Culture Chanel and No. 5 Culture Chanel.