Chinese celebrities at exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto in Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto, the exhibition co-organized by the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of Paris, Paris Musées is running at the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai through to Nov 24. Shanghai is the fifth leg of the retrospective show. Since launching in Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of Paris in 2020, it has been to Melbourne, Tokyo and London.

The exhibition is an invitation to discover a universe and a style of the famous designer's more than 60-year career, with over 200 pieces from the Palais Galliera collections and Patrimoine de CHANEL, from international museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Arizona State University FIDM Museum in Los Angeles, the Musée des Arts décoratifs and the Alaïa Foundation in Paris.

Exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is running at the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai through to Nov 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

It is the second time the French house has held a large exhibition in China. Between 2011 and 2013, the brand brought the Cultural Chanel exhibition to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Compared to that show, which displayed photos, drawings, illustration and text drafts, this time, visitors can see real dresses, bags, accessories, jewellery and perfume.

The exhibition, designed both chronologically and thematically, is composed of two main chapters, respectively dedicated to her work from the 1910s to the 1930s and to the second part from 1954 to 1971.

Exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is running at the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai through to Nov 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Her early designs are mentioned with a few emblematic pieces, including the famous marinière, the sailor blouse in jersey, which was introduced in 1913. The development of Chanel's style is evoked, from the sporty models and little black dresses of the 1910s to the sophisticated dresses initiated in the 1920s.

This first part centers on notions such as simplicity, youth, movement or allure, mentioned unanimously and regularly by the press from the start of her career. These notions, illustrated by a selection of distinctive models, reveal Chanel's work specificity.

Exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is running at the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai through to Nov 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This first part showcases the consistency of her vision, and to show how her creations, from garments, beauty products, to accessories and jeweller form a coherent whole and contribute to the unity of her style. One room is devoted entirely to "N°5", created in 1921 and quintessentially the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel.

The second part of the exhibition presents a selection of models dated from the 1950s to the last collection created by her in 1971. This selection shows how by returning to couture in 1954 and, against the trend, she reaffirmed her fashion manifesto.

Exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto is running at the Power Station of Art (PSA) in Shanghai through to Nov 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A focus dedicated to the famous braided tweed suit, to the two-tone pumps and to the 2.55 quilted bag, allows us to decipher the Chanel codes. The costume and fine jewellery presented with lamé suits, in contrast with the sobriety of her clothes, recall her art in the handling of paradoxes.

The exhibition ends with a selection of models and two films presenting the last collections created by Gabrielle Chanel, showing the consistency with which she pursued and adapted her proposals. Faithful to her own style and positioning herself at odds with the fashion of her time, she was resolutely avant-garde. "One could say that Chanel barely or never varies her line but this is precisely her strength," reports Vogue Paris in April 1921.

Photo portraits of Gabrielle Chanel accompany each theme of the exhibition and show the extent to which the "couturière" herself was the embodiment of her brand.

The exhibition is designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), while Jumping He is the graphic designer. Tilda Swinton and Chinese actress Zhou Xun recorded voice guide for the exhibition.