Legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, current designer-in-residence at Chanel, told Vanity Fair he believes "architecture is the real art of today."  So when it came time to plan a celebration for the 50^th anniversary of the iconic Chanel bag – the black, quilted number that never seems to go out of style – he turned to an architect to help him mark the occasion.  Lagerfeld's vision was to move beyond a mere exhibit to create a mobile museum that could travel from place to place.  And the architect he chose to help bring this vision to life was Iranian born, London architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman ever to be awarded the Pritzker Prize.

On the surface, Hadid might not sound like the most practical choice.  Some of her curvilinear, spaceship-like creations are so complex, they can't actually be built.  But Hadid remained earthbound with the Chanel pavilion – the container was built and functions exactly as it was meant to, celebrating the Chanel bag with help from artists including Sylvie Fleury, Stephen Shore and Yoko Ono.  Plus, the museum really does move.  It has already appeared in Hong Kong and Tokyo and is now on its way to New York City, where it will open at a still-undisclosed location.  After the USA, the museum will move on to London and Moscow, finally ending its run where the Chanel bag began – in Paris.