Chanel in Vogue

With Chanel in Vogue, published by Thames & Hudson, what unfolds is not only a history of fashion, but also a history of images. Conceived in two volumes, the book brings together the work of Rebecca C. Tuite, fashion historian, and Susanna Brown, photography specialist, around a shared subject: the exceptional dialogue between Chanel and Vogue, from Gabrielle Chanel’s early years to the Maison’s contemporary reinterpretations.

For Schall Collection, this publication carries a particular resonance. Roger Schall holds a singular place within this shared iconography of Vogue and Chanel. In the 1930s, he belonged to a generation of photographers who brought fashion out of the studio. He preferred women in situation, bodies in space, silhouettes set within real surroundings. Fashion was no longer simply posed: it was lived, it circulated, it belonged to a place.

This approach was fully in tune with the spirit of Vogue at the time. The magazine was not only interested in collections, but in the world around them: apartments, houses, habits, circles of friends, everyday gestures. Very early on, Vogue recognised the singularity of Schall’s eye, to the point of wanting to bring him onto its editorial team. But Roger Schall, forever independent, chose to preserve his freedom. This position says much about the way he worked: responding to commissions, yes, but never at the expense of his own vision.

It is within this context that his images take on their full force. At La Pausa, he photographed Gabrielle Chanel in her intimate surroundings, among friends, on the terraces, in the gardens, under the light of the Riviera. On Rue Cambon, he captured her in her office, glasses on her nose, cigarette in hand, surrounded by her sketches. In both cases, the image goes beyond portraiture. It shows a woman at work, a hostess, a creator, a presence.

For the making of the book, Schall Collection worked closely with the two authors, opening its archives, assisting with the identification of images and providing the contextual elements needed to read them. This contribution helped restore Schall’s photographs to their rightful narrative, at the crossroads of the histories of Vogue, Chanel and fashion photography.

Through Chanel in Vogue, these images find their rightful place: not as mere documents, but as active fragments of Chanel’s visual history.