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In 1962, at the age of 27, Kirkland received an assignment from Look Magazine to photograph Chanel for a story on the legendary fashion icon. For a period of three weeks, Kirkland shadowed Mademoiselle Chanel capturing her intense schedule and daily routine with models, fitters, clients and friends. The exhibition includes personal images of Coco Chanel in her stunning apartment decorated with Chinese Coromandel screens, where she greeted royalty and celebrities. While documenting Mademoiselle Chanel in the House of Chanel, Paris, Kirkland captured photographs of Madame Pompidou, the wife of the Prime Minister of France who later became President, Lee Radziwill, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Richard Avedon, also photographing the day of the fashion show. Mademoiselle Chanel invited Kirkland on a day trip to Versailles that resulted in only one photograph he took of the 'grande dame' appropriately set in the royal gardens. Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion with creations and style, including the 'little black dress', Chanel's signature cardigan jacket, women's casual wear, quilted handbags, short hairstyles, combining authentic and costume jewelry, as well as Chanel No. 5, the world's best selling perfume. Today, at 80 years old, Kirkland remembers with great fondness and admiration the days spent with Coco Chanel. His photographs provide a personal view of this extraordinary individual, the most influential fashion designer of the 20th century. Upon viewing the exhibition in New York, Karl Lagerfeld commented on the artistry and timeless view of Mademoiselle Chanel and thereafter published a book featuring Kirkland's photographs (Mademoiselle, Steidl). The negatives of these photographs have been in the well-known photographer's vault for the past 49 years, and represent a documentation of intimate and public moments of a woman who transformed 20th century fashion.

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