Gabrielle - La Femme au Camellia - Fashion Painting

Gabrielle - La Femme au Camellia
6" x 8" x 3/4" Acrylic on canvas
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When one sees a garment trimmed with a distinctive contrasting braid, one instinctively thinks of Chanel - the most recognized signature style in the world. Where previous designers had timidly tried to free women's bodies from their restrictive and cumbersome clothes, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel boldly broke the mold and did it with simple, loose and stretchy fabric. Her first woman's suit came out circa 1920, evolved into what is still seen today as the perfect attire for the elegant, smart woman in a position of power and authority. Not at all a man's jacket cut for the female form, but an original creation that could have only been born from a gifted and capable women in a time when women were generally regarded as incapable. For this painting, I used a photograph of a model wearing a Chanel suit taken in the 1950s, when the iconic designer was still the head of her couture house.

Below are progress shots.