Chanel Takes London With Major V&A Exhibition About the Designer’s Life

LONDON — In a grand cross-channel gesture that would have put a smile on Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s sun-kissed face, Chanel and the Victoria & Albert Museum have put on a show that explores the designer’s life, style and abiding love for Grande Bretagne.

“Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto” is the first U.K. exhibition dedicated entirely to the French fashion designer. It charts six decades of her career, starting with…