Of Meghan Markle to Charlotte Casiraghithe two-tone Chanel ballerinas They have so many followers that it is difficult to trace when they began to be worn with a certain frequency, that is, when contemporary celebrities surrendered to the many benefits of this cult accessory that at some point ran out of stock and set up an endless waiting list that today of today continues adding names.
In any case, the story of his success was almost written. Yet it was her own Coco Chanel the one who affirmed that with a few shoes, neither more nor less, any woman can achieve anything. Going well-shod is the first step, clothes come later. And Chanel’s two-tone ballerinas, thanks to their impeccable aesthetics and evident comfort, are the quintessence of a house that was born to revolutionize the female wardrobe and fill it with garments as elegant as casual. Now Chanel is the tweed, the jacket suit, the bow in the hair, Penélope Cruz and Marion Cotillad; So, in its beginnings, it was about wide pants and walking shoes. Sportswear made Haute Couture. Our first Glamhit is actually a tribute to the DNA of a house that, although it has known how to renew its codes to conquer the new generations, knows its origins. And in fact, he has embodied them in this pair of impeccable billing.
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Two-tone Chanel ballerina. © Courtesy of Chanel.
His story:
One year after her arrival at the Chanel house, karl lagerfeld designed two-tone ballerinas directly inspired by shoes created by Gabrielle Chanel in 1957. The result was the appearance of a new classic from the firm whose first great ambassador was a young Inès de la Fressange photographed by Helmut Newton. Inspired by the world of ballet that Coco knew and adored -she always prioritized freedom of movement in all her creations, almost as if they were going to be worn by a dance company-, the two-tone ballerinas are a fundamental piece in the history of the firm and are also essential to understand the grammar that the designer tried to create: garments until then associated with men such as the tweed jacket or the striped shirt combined with accessories as delicate as the aforementioned ballerinas. And in that dialectic between masculine and feminine, the maison’s style book was born.
Your modern user manual:
Since Karl Lagerfeld rescued this classic, each season has featured a version of the two-tone ballerina through different combinations of shades and fabrics, both in the prèt-â-porter and Haute Couture collections.
After the kaiser stage, Virgine Viard –current creative director of the firm– has not hesitated to follow tradition and has redesigned this pair adding those touches of modernity and avant-garde that characterize its aesthetics. Although, yes, she always respects the codes of the house and the original design of the two-tone ballerina. From the decorations with chains to the incorporation of the camellia –the Chanel flower par excellence–, going through the use of the logo In more artistic ways (their presence has increased the value of the firm’s bags that carry it by 20%), the ballerinas have renewed their design in many ways to approach other wardrobes and other women, and they have succeeded. However, it is the classic two-tone pair –black and beige– that Still have a waiting list which promises to be extended to infinity.
In terms of celebrities, who in the end are the ones that can raise or bury certain trends, almost all the ambassadors, friends and followers of the maison have a pair in their closet, that is, everyone. Meghan Markle, Diane Kruger, Emma Watson, Elsa Hosk, Carlota Casiraghi, Poppy Delevingne… The list of women who have this Chanel bestseller is as long as its aforementioned waiting list. One more proof of her versatility as an accessory, as it adapts to anyone’s style with total naturalness, and of her evident timelessness. The years go by, the trends change, fashion continues its course and in fact is renewed more and more quickly, but the Chanel ballerinas remain, immovable, after a time that always respects what the French call allure (inexplicable charm).
The anecdote:
The bicolor ballerinas were born from a need of Gabrielle Chanel herself, to create a sort of capsule shoe rack that would respond to the following aspiration: “I can travel the world with four shoes”.