Haute Couture from Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel Golden Years
Mouna Ayoub and Karl Lagerfeld backstage after the Fall/Winter 2014/15 Haute Couture show in Paris
Source: Getty Images/Rindoff/Dufour
Would you like to own a piece of fashion history? Mouna Ayoub has created one of the largest haute couture collections in the world. She is now auctioning off 252 of the most beautiful pieces from Lagerfeld’s time at Chanel. She never used most of them, but Claudia Schiffer did.
METERYou forget it so quickly, with all the celebrities, flashing lights, spectacular fashion shows and beautiful dresses. But without clients willing to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros on a look, haute couture would not exist. And how far a woman’s passion for this exquisite art of fashion can go is demonstrated by the story about a private collection of Chanel Haute Couture dresses that will be auctioned on November 20.
The collection, which exclusively features designs from Karl Lagerfeld’s creative period, comes from Mouna Ayoub, whose story is as dazzling as the embroidery on a floor-length gold Chanel dress from the 1996 summer collection. She gushed as Young waitress in Paris in the 1970s The woman of Lebanese origin caught the attention of a Saudi Arabian billionaire and advisor to King Fahd, who was so fascinated by seeing her that he soon proposed marriage to her and took her to Saudi Arabia as his own. wife.
The relationship turned Ayoub into a wealthy but lonely woman who eventually devoted her time and resources to purchasing haute couture dresses. He became a regular customer, especially of Chanel, starting in 1990. 252 pieces from his wardrobe, created between 1990 and 2014 and reflecting the golden years of the Lagerfeld era, are now being auctioned in Paris as part of a partnership between the house auction house Maurice Auction and the British haute couture auction institution Kerry Taylor.
Among the most impressive designs is the “Coromandel” evening coat from the 1996/1997 winter collection, completely embellished with Lesage embroidery and inspired by the Coromandel screens with Chinese lacquer paintings that adorned Coco Chanel’s apartment on Rue Cambon. Claudia Schiffer wore a red tweed ensemble on the runway in 1993, and Christy Turlington wore a black silk crepe dress with chain jewelry in 1992. Also among the objects are bags, belts, shoes and jewelry.
Top model Claudia Schiffer in a Chanel tweed ensemble in July 1993
Source: Gamma Rapho/Getty Images
Ayoub prefers to buy the biggest, most striking looks in each collection, and she is a demanding customer: she orders at least four to six accessories from houses. “Each piece has to fit perfectly, otherwise I’ll return it,” she says. Especially at the beginning of her passion for collecting, she had no intention of wearing those clothes. In particular, short hemlines or plunging necklines did not suit her daily life in Saudi Arabia, which was characterized by strict dress codes for women. Ayoub bought it anyway, driven by her admiration for the craft and the joy she felt visiting the studios and interacting with the seamstresses.
Therefore, almost all the pieces that are now for sale have been worn only once or never before. Instead, they were carefully stored for years in museum-worthy conditions in a warehouse outside Paris. Ayoub justifies that the time has come to get rid of some models with the fact that many pieces no longer fit him. On the other hand, after the death of Karl Lagerfeld, the time has come for a new generation to enjoy his designs and fill them with life.
Featured on the runway in 1992, worn by Lily Rose Depp at the 2019 Met Gala and now a dress is up for auction. Haute couture fashion remains timeless
Source: ©️Oscar Dhondt
Either way, Ayoub will not be short of valuable clothing items even after the auction. Her collection totals around 2,700 models and to this day she continues to buy designs from houses like Chanel, Dior, Schiaparelli and Armani every season. She divorced her husband in 1997 and today she is dedicated to real estate and lives in Monaco. Part of the proceeds from the auction she will donate to the French humanitarian organization “Fondation des Femmes”, which fights for women’s rights around the world.
The auction “Karl Lagerfeld’s golden years for Chanel from the Mouna Ayoub Haute Couture collection” will take place on November 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris. You can bid live through Maurice Auction.