In 1955 Madame Coco Chanel launched the iconic, quilted ‘it’ bag 2.55. Now, fifty-three years later, Chanel have decided to make the bag the center of attention once again, namely the center of a traveling exhibition entitled Chanel Mobile Art. Twenty international contemporary artists have reinterpreted the classic Chanel hand bag and designed everything from a gold quilted guitar-shaped shoulder bag to a giant 2.55 lying thrown on the floor. The exhibition opened in Hong Kong in a futuristic, curved glass pavillion designed by Zaha Hadid, which was the first stop of a two-year world tour, where the artists have smoothened the fine lines between fashion design and art. “We don’t need art, but we cannot live without it,” said Karl Lagerfeld at the opening of Chanel’s Mobile Art pavilion in New York City’s Central Park. The exhibition will move on to cities like London, Moscow and Paris.







