Imitation, a sincere form of admiration
In the 1960s, there were fashion houses in the USA that made authorised replicas of Chanel designs, as might well be the case with this jacket and dress ensemble. Once the order was placed, the original patterns, fabric, buttons and even labels were sent from Paris. It was precisely one of these pieces that Jackie Kennedy wore on the day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
This practice actually arose during the Great Depression, when Chanel responded to the difficulties with a charity exhibition, in which it allowed the models on display to be reproduced.
The authorised Chanel reproduction worn by First Lady Jackie Kennedy during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is now in the custody of the US National Archives as an object of great historical significance. The set, owned by the Kennedy family, was donated to the National Archives in 2003, after the signing of a contract stating that it could not be exhibited until at least 2103, at which time the family will renegotiate the terms of the contract.
For Coco Chanel, couture was not a craft but an art, and she left an impressive legacy to prove it. Chanel died in 1971, in her suite at the Ritz Hotel, and it was only a few days later that her last collection, described as one of the most dazzling in contemporary fashion, was presented.
Chanel’s haute couture was taken over by Karl Lagerfeld in 1983, whose ability to anticipate women’s tastes and preferences in fashion, and his love of refinement and luxury, made him the perfect successor to Coco Chanel.
