In his acclaimed biographical ballet, choreographer Peter Breuer explores the myth of a woman who revolutionized the fashion world, inspired the art world of her time and made herself a legend in her own lifetime.
-) Stage at least 10x8m
-) Opera foil
-) Digital projector
When Coco Chanel was on vacation in Salzburg in 1954, a young liftboy in a short traditional jacket inspired her to create what is probably her most famous piece of clothing - the classic Chanel jacket. At least that's how the brand history tells it and the story fits in with Coco Chanel's efforts to create myths about herself during her lifetime.
In 1909, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, who was orphaned at an early age and constantly circulated new stories about her origins, founded a hat studio in Paris. During this time, she only designed fashion for herself and her friends. What counts for her is straightforwardness and natural freedom of movement. She had her hair cut off and wore pants - revolutionary for the time and successful: in 1915 she opened her first fashion house and in the 1920s she was part of an illustrious circle of intellectuals, artists and rich industrialists. She was friends with Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, among others. She is connected with the Duke of Westminster right up to the highest echelons of British society. Winston Churchill and the Duke of Windsor were among her friends. At the beginning of the 1930s, she occupied a suite in the Ritz Hotel and employed up to 4,000 workers.
Coco Chanel had numerous love affairs. Her affair with the German diplomat Hans Günther von Dincklage, special representative of the Reich Security Main Office in France, is particularly controversial
. As agent F-7124 in "Operation Model Hat", Chanel is supposed to persuade Winston Churchill to talk to the Germans about a possible end to the war. What exactly happened back then, according to the Chanel fashion house today, in the spirit of Coco Chanel, will "undoubtedly remain a mystery forever".