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Kir New Bow Tie

The document compares and contrasts fashion designers Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet across four points: 1. Vionnet treated her workers better, offering benefits like coffee breaks and paid vacation, while Chanel had a bitter labor dispute and shut down her atelier during WWII putting thousands out of work. 2. During WWII, Chanel lived with a Nazi in Paris while Vionnet cared for her father until his death, and had a happy marriage for early years. 3. A Chanel suit from the 1930s would be more comfortable to wear today, though the author has enjoyed making and wearing a bias-cut scarf based on a Vionnet pattern.

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Liyakath Ali
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38 views

Kir New Bow Tie

The document compares and contrasts fashion designers Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet across four points: 1. Vionnet treated her workers better, offering benefits like coffee breaks and paid vacation, while Chanel had a bitter labor dispute and shut down her atelier during WWII putting thousands out of work. 2. During WWII, Chanel lived with a Nazi in Paris while Vionnet cared for her father until his death, and had a happy marriage for early years. 3. A Chanel suit from the 1930s would be more comfortable to wear today, though the author has enjoyed making and wearing a bias-cut scarf based on a Vionnet pattern.

Uploaded by

Liyakath Ali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Smackdown point #1:

Who was better to her workers?

Coco Chanel had a bitter labor dispute with her workers in the 30s that she lost. Rumor has
it that she shut down her atelier during World War II to get back at them, putting 3,000
people out of work.

Madeleine Vionnet, on the other hand, remembering her exploitive treatment at couture
houses as a girl, was the first to offer her workers coffee breaks, paid vacation, maternity
leave, and the opportunity to advance in the company. During vacations her employees
were welcome to come hang out with her at her villa in the south of France. Score 1
Vionnet.

Smackdown point #2:
Who was riding out WWII shacking up with a Nazi in the Paris Ritz? And sleeping with just
about everybody else the rest of the time? I have to admit I’ve given that a lot of thought
while hand-stitching the Chanel jackets I’ve made.
Meanwhile, Vionnet was caring for her father in a little garden apartment until his death in
1922. After that, she married a man 18 years younger and their relationship was a happy one
in the early years at least. You go girl.
Smackdown point #3:

Whose clothing from the 30s would I been seen in walking down the street in now?

Well, unless I’m going to a toga party, I’d be more comfortable wearing a 30s Chanel suit
than a floaty bias-cut gown. I’ll give you that one, Coco. However, I have made a bias-cut
scarf from a pattern in the Vionnet book that’s very jaunty, and I have been wearing it to
death.

Smackdown point #4:

Whose clothing from the 30s would I wear to the Oscars? Though Chanel did create a
number of lovely gowns in that era, the hands-down winner is Vionnet, whose bias-cut
confections were architectural works of art. Also, because they’re cut on the bias, they have
more give, so you can gain a few pounds and still get in them.

And the winner is…

I’ll admit, it’s splitting hairs. They both got women out of corsets and into the modern world.
They both were innovators in manipulating fabric for soft structure. They both were
geniuses who inspired generations of designers. And they represent the “yin and yang” of
modern woman–the unconscionable control freak vs. the mature mentor.

Here’s a photo of Deepika, founder and fearless leader of patternreview.com,

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