English edit

Etymology edit

Chanel +‎ -ism

Noun edit

Chanelism (countable and uncountable, plural Chanelisms)

  1. A hallmark of the fashion designer Coco Chanel.
    • 1954, H.W. Wilson Company, Marjorie Dent Candee, Current biography yearbook: Volume 15:
      "All the Paris couture (except Fath) is permeated with the easy underdone sort of clothes that were the basis of Chanelism at its height."
    • 1965, John Fairchild, The fashionable savages:
      A woman of eighty-four, the world's top designer still going strong, producing a look that spanned several decades and Chanelisms which became fashion classics.
    • 1989, Caroline Rennolds Milbank, New York fashion: the evolution of American style:
      Adolfo recalls it all with his wool boucle suit, mint green, touched with silvery metallic embued with all the elegant Chanelisms.
    • 1990, Augustine Hope, Margaret Walch, The color compendium:
      Besides the basic black dress, Chanelisms include pearls, sling-back pumps in beige and white, gold chains, and flame red and navy suit braiding.