Since its first chapter in 2007, the CULTURE CHANEL project has been realized through a collection of individual exhibitions conceived and curated by Jean-Louis Froment. With this series, CULTURE CHANEL approaches the singular life story of Gabrielle Chanel and the House of CHANEL through each exhibition’s original theme. This itinerary, which spans the 20th century and continues to formulate modernity today, draws its content from the roots of the culture of her time. The relationships Mademoiselle Chanel maintained throughout her life with some of the greatest creative minds of her time were crucial. Her friendships, conversations and exchanges went on to provide sustenance for her thoughts and her own creations. Thus, each successive exhibition sheds under a new light what constitutes the foundation of a language that is universal today. It is this formal vocabulary that has forged the styleof CHANEL, this singular identity developed and continually enriched by this set of fundamentals. After Moscow in 2007 (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts), Shanghai (Museum of Contemporary Art) and Beijing (National Art Museum of China) in 2011, Canton (Opera House) and Paris (Palais de Tokyo) in 2013, Seoul (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) in 2014, the next CULTURE CHANEL exhibition will be held in Venice. This seventh chapter of CULTURE CHANEL evokes Gabrielle Chanel’s creative world from a totally new perspective: that of her relationship to books and reading. From Greek authors to modern poets, Gabrielle Chanel’s abundant library reveals the works that left an impression on her life and shaped her personality. In her apartment at 31 rue Cambon, the book shelves square up to the Coromandel lacquer panels, the comforting presence of the writings would accompany her and inspire the construction of her own pieces.