Regarding Coco Chanel,photographer Douglas Kirkland once said, ‘ Chanel is here forever. She changed fashion,she changed culture, + she changed how people dress,’ + he should know, afterspending three weeks with her during 1962 + documenting those tokens of memory
in ‘Coco Chanel: Three Weeks/ 1962’, by Douglas Kirkland, published by
Glitterati Incorporated. Now
Chanel considered being an extremely strong force to be reckoned with, even
bigger than her small chain-smoking frame, as Judith Thurman,
seasoned biographer +
literary giant noted in her foreword ‘if you study the poignant encounter
documented in this volume, you will discover why so many otherwise wary + artificial
idols (Marilyn, Bardot, + countless others) have let down their guard,’ adding
‘But her genius was for simplicity, + to achieve simplicity, you have to trust
your instincts. That is what she
saw – + trusted – in Douglas Kirkland.
He shoots from the heart,’ which in my opinion is the only way to do so.
Now don’t let this picture above,
of Kirkland + Chanel fool you. Kirkland,
a mere twenty seven years old + Mademoiselle Coco Seventy Nine, could not have
been more mismatched, as confidence, it would appear, did not seem to come as
naturally to the young photographer.
Besides the fact that Chanel did not trust Kirkland, it took a very
embarrassing moment to make the two close. Unaware Chanel almost became the duchess of Westminster
during her stay in England, like most Parisians of that time; Kirkland assumed
she did not speak English.
Douglas recalled, ‘Then one
morning I turned a corner in a narrow hallway at the atelier + found myself
face-to-face with her. She looked straight
at me + said, ‘ Salut.’ I froze,
not knowing how to respond. After
a beat, in her low voice, she said in perfect English, I just said hello to
you.’ From that moment on Coco
finally took a liking to the young photographer + he was given the green light
to start working.
Like many photography books on fashion
designers + their creative process, Kirklandn’s take on Chanel + her overwhelming
presence in fashion history, is beautifully captured in this book with several
pictures of her in her atelier with models, admirers + press + the occasional
candid shot taken outdoors, all while wearing her white hat which she never took
off. Yet the brilliance in these
photos also lies in how a lot of them could easily pass for modern day
editorials, even with the Sixties hairdos.
But
as a special bonus, this deluxe limited edition copy of ‘Coco Chanel: Three Weeks/ 1962’, by Douglas Kirkland,
published by Glitterati Incorporated, comes with a signed print of one of Kirkland’s photos from the
book. This title is available for
purchase at http://glitteratiincorporated.com.