After a period of time, Jacques Wertheimer bought the controlling interest of the House of Estee Lauder NIGHT REPAIR. Critics stated that during his leadership, he never paid much attention to the company, as he was more interested in horse breeding. In 1974, the House of Chanel launched Cristalle eau de toilette, which was designed when Coco Chanel was alive.
More layered strings of fake pearls followed — worn proudly by Chanel herself — and a trend was born. “The point of jewelry isn’t to make a woman look rich but to adorn her; not the same thing.” Striped pieces appeared in her boutique in the society resort of Deauville, Normandy, in the 1910s.
In 2012, the company created a special collection to celebrate Diamants’ 80th anniversary. Current collections include High Jewelry, Camelia, Comete, Coco Crush, Baroque, 1932, Ultra, Bridal and Jewelry Watches. In 1994, Chanel had a net profit equivalent to €67 million on the sale of €570 million in ready-to-wear clothes and was the most profitable French fashion house.
Alain Wertheimer, son of Jacques Wertheimer, assumed control of Chanel S.A. Alain revamped Chanel No.5 sales by reducing the number of outlets carrying the fragrance from 18,000 to 12,000. He removed the perfume from drugstore shelves and invested millions of dollars in advertisement for Chanel cosmetics.
The Chanel logotype comprises two interlocked, opposed letters-C, one faced left, one faced right. The logotype was given to Chanel by the Château de Crémat, Nice, and was not registered as a trademark until the first Chanel shops were established. Within months, a 1,000-square-foot shoe/handbag boutique opened next door. Chanel continued to expand in the United States and by December 2002, operated 25 U.S. boutiques. Maison de Chanel increased the Wertheimer family fortune to US$5 billion. Sales were hurt by the recession of the early 1990s, but Chanel recovered by the mid-1990s with further boutique expansion.
In 1926, Vogue published a drawing of a simple, calf-length black dress fashioned from crêpe de Chine. It featured long narrow sleeves and a low waist, and was adorned with a string of pearls. The magazine described it as “‘s Ford,” referring to the at-the-time wildly popular Model T. In other words, it was a garment so simple it could be accessible to any shopper — “a sort of uniform for all women of taste,” as the publication put it.
Among the selection are black leather high heel equestrian boots, gold sequined two-tone Mary Janes and jewel toned velvet ballet flats from the Metiers d’Art collection. Two ready-to-wear salons showcase the range of artistic director Virginie Viard’s collections for the first time in Washington. Custom upholsteries designed in France and the U.S. in vibrant tones of fuchsia, red and blue are juxtaposed against the beige, gold, white and black ceramic finishes. Explore the brand’s iconic pieces from our range of pre-owned .