Anatomy of a Classic: The Chanel Flap Bag
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“An interior,” Coco Chanel once said, “is the natural projection of the soul.” Given her obsession with coromandel screens, maybe her soul belonged in the Far East. The story goes that the 18-year-old Chanel fell in love with these richly lacquered panels the minute she saw one in a store. She collected more than 30 antique screens—eight of which adorned her flat at 31 Rue Cambon—and used them in creative ways beyond their primary function as room dividers.
A novelty of the Ming Dynasty, coromandel screens often depicted mythological or pastoral scenes using incised lacquer and pigments and, in the most exquisite examples, jade, gems, ivory, and mother-of-pearl. In the 17th century the screens were exported to the West, where they quickly became the decorating hack du jour of the European one percent.
Chanel saved her favorite one for her office. It was an iridescent tableau of the West Lake in Hangzhou, China, and it inspired the house’s latest Métiers d’Art show, presented last December on this very lake.
While the entire collection is an homage to Coco’s beloved heirloom, this embroidered bag most closely captures the spirit of the original relic. “I’m like a snail. I carry my house with me,” was another Chanel aphorism. Consider this a more realistic way to do that.
Chanel Classic Flap Bag, 800-550-0005
This story appears in the April 2025 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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