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Sofia Coppola’s New Book on Chanel’s Couture Legacy Deserves a Spot on Your Coffee Table — Here’s How to Read It

'Chanel Haute Couture' captures the history of one of fashion's most influential labels through a compilation of unseen sketches, rare runway photographs and other archival gems.

By Stacia Datskovska Plus Icon

Stacia Datskovska

Senior Commerce Writer for WWD

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September 11, 2025, 2:46pm

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sofia coppola posing for a photograph with a chanel bag; chanel haute couture bag in glossy gold over a sparkling black background

Courtesy Anastassiya Bezhekeneva, Swan Gallet/Getty Images, Important Flowers

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There’s no doubt about it: Sofia Coppola is a modern-day Renaissance woman, having not only directed Academy Award–winning films but also cut her teeth in the screenwriting, modeling and acting industries. Now, the 54-year-old multi-hyphenate can add one more credit to her name — that of book editor, as she just released a 448-page tome detailing the rich history of Chanel, guided by her own memories at the label’s haute couture salon in the late ’80s.

Cracking open “Chanel Haute Couture,” from Mack Books‘ Important Flowers imprint, is like entering the glory days of the still-iconic fashion house through a secret back door. Inside, Coppola lends her indelible style and curatorial touch to the vast assortment of sketches, snapshots of Chanel’s most influential clients throughout the years lensed by no-less-influential photographers, and beyond. Those who have a penchant for a particular era of Chanel, be it when it operated under the creative direction of Karl Lagerfeld or Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel herself, will be happy to find that the book gives justice to every single part of the brand’s legacy.

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Chanel Haute Couture, by Sofia Coppola and Important Flowers

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Coppola was able to pen the new release from a very personal place, given that she held a Chanel internship in Paris when she was only 15 years old. Coppola got the plush job with the help of a family friend and Chanel ambassador, actress Carole Bouquet, right after losing her brother. “That summer the hole in my heart was filled with the magic and beauty of the haute couture studio,” the filmmaker recounts in the pages of “Chanel Haute Couture.”

She soon became privy to the comings and goings of what felt like fashion’s entire “who’s who” list: from model Veronica Webb to Lagerfeld himself. And though the book is compiled collage-style, it’s easy to spot the evolution of the Chanel name and everything it stood for as culture and trends progressed. Readers are given intimate glimpses of both classic imagery (in the vein of Marilyn Monroe applying her favorite perfume) and contemporary shots (Kristen Stewart pairing a Chanel gown with Nike sneakers on the set of “Spencer,” say).

Want to indulge in iconic Chanel moments like this one, featuring Marilyn Monroe and her favored bottle of Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum? Snag Sofia Coppola’s newest title. Courtesy Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Channel has long been championing Coppola’s work, and vice versa, so a collaboration of this nature comes as no surprise at all. Just this week, the project was fêted by A-listers from Bill Murray and Vogue’s new leader Chloe Malle to Gracie Abrams and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.

Gracie Abrams, wearing Chanel, attends a dinner to celebrate the launch of Sofia Coppola’s book, which she’s holding up in the above picture, on September 10, 2025. Courtesy Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

But you don’t have to be part of the Hollywood elite to immerse yourself headfirst into the glamorous, glitzy, and feminine world of Chanel. Simply score the fresh title at Amazon, which will impress all of your houseguests when they see it resting, dustless and well-read, on your coffee table.

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Meet the Author

Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, Cosmopolitan, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on news in the world of fashion, book releases included.

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Sofia Coppola’s New Book on Chanel’s Couture Legacy Deserves a Spot on Your Coffee Table — Here’s How to Read It

Recent Articles by Stacia Datskovska

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Chanel Haute Couture, by Sofia Coppola and Important Flowers

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