Evening jacket
Spring/Summer 1991
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel
Gift of Steven & Linda Plochocki
2009.899.2

This ready-to-wear evening jacket, inspired by the sand and sea, appeared in Chanel's seasonal portfolio for elite clients and on the January 1991 cover of American Vogue. Designer Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938) took the boxy jacket outlined with contrasting braid made iconic by house founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) in the 1960s, and updated it for a generation of young women who preferred surfing and snorkeling to formal luncheons. The sleek outline and transparent sequin covering of the "Scuba" jacket mimics a figure-hugging wetsuit glistening in sun-dappled oceans. The aquatic theme continued as suntanned models carrying surfboards sashayed down the catwalk in coordinating black neoprene leggings.