Vintage Chanel Silk Chiffon Watercolor Beaded Gown 1997
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 38 (EU)
- Style:1997 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU458945362
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel
More than a mere tastemaker, Karl Lagerfeld devoted himself to the continual pursuit of chic. “My life and my job,” the designer once said, “is to forget myself.” From his first collection at Chanel — after joining the brand in the early 1980s — he injected the venerable house with a frisson of modernity. Vintage Karl Lagerfeld designs for Chanel handbags, evening dresses, coats, jewelry and other clothing and accessories riffed on its iconography — tweed skirt suits, pearls, camellias — accenting a lexicon of Chanel-isms with tastes of the moment.
During his five-decade career as a designer for Chanel, Fendi, Chloé and many others, Lagerfeld was a quintessential chameleon, ever evolving to embody the times. An outsize, instantly recognizable personality — his ponytail powdered like an 18th-century viscount, his eyes perpetually shielded by dark glasses, wearing fistfuls of chunky silver jewels — Lagerfeld was, above all, an avatar of style.
Born in Hamburg (in 1933, ’35, or ’38 by varying accounts), Karl Lagerfeld packed his bags for Paris in 1954. His design for a coat won him the International Wool Secretariat and landed him a job with the celebrated couturier Pierre Balmain.
Lagerfeld went on to become the designer of Jean Patou, eventually realizing that his seemingly endless ideas could fuel a career as a designer-for-hire. As such, he lent his vision to everyone from Loewe and Max Mara to Krizia and Charles Jourdan, nimbly moving among a diverse range of styles. It was an unprecedented way of working in the days when freelance was still a dirty word.
During the late ’60s and ’70s, Lagerfeld refashioned Chloé to reflect the free spirit of the day and, beginning in 1965, joined forces with the Fendi family, taking it from sleepy furrier to fashion’s haute-est stratum. Because of his track record for reviving and reimagining brands that had grown stagnant, in 1983 Lagerfeld was handed the reins at Chanel, which had been gathering dust since its founder’s heyday.
Lagerfeld’s collections for the brand displayed his knack for synthesizing old and new, high and low. From Watteau (Spring/Summer 1985 couture) and Serge Roche (Spring/Summer 1990 ready-to-wear) to hip-hop fly girls (Fall/Winter 1991 ready-to-wear), surfers (Spring/Summer 2003 ready-to-wear) and ancient Egypt (Pre-Fall 2019), he used each season’s inspiration to conceive Chanel’s signatures anew.
Lagerfeld revived the house's ballet flats and thoroughly embraced the classic logo's interlocking CCs, which became a common and immediately recognizable feature of Chanel flap bags. Many of the rare Chanel bags much sought after today — and Chanel bags of the 1990s, generally — are objects of pure fantasy conjured up by the late couturier.
Despite producing eight collections a year for Chanel, as well as four to five for Fendi, Lagerfeld never faltered in proposing new ideas each time he put pencil to paper.
Find vintage Karl Lagerfeld Chanel day dresses, jackets, shoes and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Vintage Versace Yellow Giraffe Print Dress with Fur CollarBy VersaceLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Versace chestnut brown and banana yellow giraffe print turtleneck long-sleeved dress featuring a removable tan and brown fur collar and center back zipper and gemstone button...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Day Dresses
- Vintage Pierre Cardin Chrome Metal Necklace Dress with Metal Cuffs 1968By Pierre CardinLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Pierre Cardin black wool cocktail dress that features an attached chrome metal necklace and bracelet cuffs, slim body, center front slit, center back zipper and below the kne...Category
1960s French Day Dresses
- Vintage Halston Beaded Black Jersey Evening GownBy HalstonLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Halston black jersey bias cut evening gown with asymmetrical beaded panels, low neckline, deep V at back, long sleeves, and slit. Excellent Vi...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage Janice Wainwright Black Embroidered Art Deco Maxi GownBy Janice WainwrightLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Janice Wainwright Art Deco-inspired black wool long sleeve maxi dress featuring an embroidered pendant necklace at the neckline, fron...Category
1970s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage Alexander McQueen Beaded Necklace Dress AW 2005By Alexander McQueenLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Alexander McQueen black jersey halter drape dress with attached black beaded necklace. From The Man Who Knew Too Much Collection Autu...Category
Early 2000s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage Rifat Ozbek Black Dress with Party In the Back Leopard Beaded BodiceBy Rifat ÖzbekLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is pleased to offer a vintage Rifat Ozbek black dress with leopard print back featuring criss-cross straps, beaded fringe trim...Category
1980s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white striped trainBy Roland KleinLocated in Austin, TX1980s Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white train. Acetate fabric. 34" bust, 26" waist, 40" hips, 48" front length - 54 1/2" ba...Category
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Gowns
- Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 Black Jersey Dress Gown w Pony Hair Belt 42By Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Runway Tom Ford for Gucci Black Jersey Dress Gown F/W 1996 Collection Designer size - 42 Black Jersey, Fully Lined, Slip-on Style. Black Pony Hair Belt...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Iconic Tom Ford for Gucci SS 2003 Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress SBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXIconic Tom Ford for Gucci Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress S/S 2003 Runway Collection Designer size - S Measurements: Length - 37", Bust - ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Azzedine Alaia black acetate knit evening dress with train, fw 1986By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaia evening dress ▪ Black acetate knit ▪ Button-up collar with low-cut neckline ▪ Leg of mutton sleeves ▪ Open-knit detail on the hips ▪ ...Category
1980s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress with lace underlay, fw 2000By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace black silk evening wrap dress ▪ Lace underlay ▪ Open back ▪ Beaded belt fastening ▪ Boat neck ▪ Pleated detail at waist ▪ Draped detail at back fastening ▪ IT 3...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How the Chanel Jacket Forever Changed What Women Wear
The classic tweed garment has been a wardrobe staple of chic women around the world since the 1950s.
Remembering Fashion Designer, Collector and Supreme Tastemaker Karl Lagerfeld
The creative force behind brands like Chanel, Fendi and Chloé was as exacting in his interiors as he was in his clothing designs.