A Mania for Karl Lagerfeld-era Chanel Gathers Steam in Paris
COCO NUTS: Waiters in white ponytails and dark glasses ferried Champagne on trays Wednesday night in Paris as online resale specialist Collector Square unveiled an array of items designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld over his 30-plus years helming Chanel.
The handbag-heavy sale includes classic quilted styles, and more whimsical items, including a nifty life preserver satchel from the beach-y spring 2019 Chanel collection; a milk carton minaudière from the fall 2014 collection bearing the words “Lait de Coco,” and a sequined army rucksack from the Coco Cuba cruise collection paraded in Havana back in 2016.
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One of the priciest items is a limited-edition Coco Chanel Bearbrick at 98,000 euros. Under Lagerfeld, Chanel was the first luxury fashion house to create one of the Japanese figurines resembling futuristic bears.
Osanna Orlowski, cofounder of Collector Square, said Chanel items by Lagerfeld are “very sought after,” and she marveled at his “incredible capacity” to animate classic styles with new fabrications and decorative motifs, and to dream up whimsical items like beach rackets or checkerboards, also part of the online sale.
Meanwhile, auction house Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr is gearing up for a sale on April 27 titled “L’Art du Luxe: Chanel.” Its 350 lots include one of Lagerfeld’s iconic scuba-style Chanel jackets from the spring-summer 1991 collection, and a wide selection of designs across his entire tenure, from 1983 until he died in 2019.
Unusual lots include an aluminum bike from 2008 featuring a quilted leather seat. It’s estimated to fetch between 12,000 euros and 15,000 euros.
There are also designs dating from founder Gabrielle Chanel, Philippe Guibourgé, and Virginie Viard, who succeeded Lagerfeld as creative director.
Interest in all things Lagerfeld is flourishing on the eve of the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibition opening on May 5 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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