Gabrielle Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (August 19, 1883 – January 10, 1971), born in Saumur, 

France . French fashion designer , founder of the Chanel brand. 

When he was 12, his mother passed away. ^[15 ]Her father abandoned her and her four siblings, leaving them to be raised by her aunt. In 1914, Coco opened two fashion stores, and the influential fashion brand Chanel was officially born. In 1954, Coco returned to France and quickly captured the hearts of Parisian ladies

 with her simple and natural women’s clothing style . In 1983, 12 years after Chanel’s death,  Karl Lagerfeld took over as fashion director of the Chanel Group, but every season’s new products are still designed with the Chanel spirit in mind.

Gabrielle Chanel, with her modernist vision, masculine style, and simple yet expensive designs, became one of the most important figures in 20th century fashion. She advocated for women’s rights , It not only gives women freedom of movement, but also maintains gentleness and elegance. The brand’s classic 2.55 handbag originated from Chanel’s determination to use a thin chain to free women’s hands from holding bags. Her influence on haute couture women’s clothing made her one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by 

Gabrielle Chanel’s personal quote: “May my legend remain fresh and new in the hearts of all people.”

Growth experience

Gabrielle ChanelGabrielle Chanel was born in Saumur , France in 1883. Her mother worked in an orphanage and gave birth to her there (but Chanel claimed that she was born in 1893 in Auvergne , a mountainous area in southern France ). She was the second child of a poor unmarried couple in France. Her father was a grocer from the Cevennes, and her mother was a shepherdess from the Auvergne Mountains. In fact, there have always been many different stories about her life experience, and Chanel tried her best to avoid and cover up until her death, which made her origin even more mysterious.

In 1889, when she was six years old, her mother died and her father abandoned her and her four siblings. She was raised by her aunt and attended Convent School as a child, where she learned needlework.

Road to fame

In 1905, when she was 22 years old, she became a “café singer” and took the stage name “Coco”, singing in different cabarets and cafes to make a living. During this singing career, Coco made friends with two old customers and became their lover and confidant, one was a British industrialist and the other was a wealthy military officer.

In 1910, Coco opened a millinery shop in Paris. With her extraordinary needlework skills, she sewed one simple and durable hat after another. Her two confidants introduced many celebrity customers to her. At that time, ladies were tired of fancy trims, so Chanel’s simple and comfortable hats were like refreshing spring water to them.

In 1911, within just one year, business was booming, and Coco moved her store to the more fashionable Rue Cambon, which is still the headquarters of Chanel. Making hats could not satisfy Coco’s ambition for a fashion career, so she entered the field of Haute Couture.

In 1914, Coco Chanel opened two fashion stores, and the fashion brand ” Chanel “, which had a profound influence on later generations, was officially born.

In the 1920s, Chanel designed many innovative styles, such as the tricot sailor dress, the little black dress, and the turtleneck suit. Moreover, Coco drew inspiration from men’s clothing to add a bit of masculinity to women’s clothing, as women only wore skirts in the 1920s. She also changed the trend of women’s clothing being too gaudy, for example, she added blazers to her women’s clothing series and launched women’s trousers.

In 1921, Chanel launched Chanel No. 5 perfume, with actress Nicole Kidman as the spokesperson. Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume in history named after a designer. The “double C” logo also makes this perfume the most profitable product in Chanel’s history. It has been popular for a long time and is still a key product recommended on Chanel’s official website. 

In the 1930s and 1940s, when World War II broke out, Coco Chanel closed her shop and fled to Switzerland with the Nazi officer she loved .

Return to the industry

In 1954, Coco returned to France and was determined to make a comeback . With her usual simple and natural women’s clothing style, she quickly captured the hearts of many Parisian ladies. Short tweed coats, bell-bottom pants , etc. are all works of Coco Chanel in the post-war period. Or simply say that the post-war Chanel style has always remained simple and elegant, often using Tartan plaid or Nordic geometric prints, camellias, and often using tweed to make clothes, which are comfortable and natural.

On January 10, 1971, she died in a guest room at the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the age of 88. Throughout her life, she embodied the meticulous, luxurious and timeless Chanel spirit. Five stone lion heads are carved on her tombstone. Chanel’s design studio in Paris, under the management of Karl Lagerfeld , is still one of the top studios in the fashion industry today. 

Inheriting the spirit

1983, twelve years after Chanel’s death. ^[14], the Chanel Group was succeeded by the design genius Karl Lagerfeld as fashion director, pushing Chanel’s fashion to another peak, but every season’s new products are still designed with the Chanel spirit. Karl Lagerfeld has a free, arbitrary and relaxed design mentality, and is the most famous representative of modern fashion directors. He always magically unifies two opposing artistic feelings in his designs, which are both unrestrained and dignified, with both French romance and humor, and German rigor and refinement. He does not have unchanging styling lines and preferred colors, but from his designs from beginning to end, one can understand the pure style of “Chanel”.

On December 3, 2014, the British newspaper The Mirror pointed out that the latest evidence confirmed that Coco Chanel was a Nazi spy who fell in love with a senior Gestapo officer and tried to persuade Britain to end the war. It is reported that the Nazis chose her to negotiate with Britain because she was a friend of then British Prime Minister Churchill . After the war, Chanel was investigated by the French authorities, and it was this friendship that saved her from doom. 

Personal life

Chanel’s designs have a distinct personal touch, and her series of creations have brought about a major revolution in the history of modern fashion. Coco’s unique insights into fashion aesthetics and her rare talent enabled her to make friends with many poets, painters, and intellectuals. Among her friends were the abstract painting master Picasso , the French poet and director Jean Cocteau , and many others. It was a time of elegance and refinement, and it was the golden age of the development of French fashion and art. 

After Coco Chanel became famous, she met the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky . Igor brought his wife and young children to France to perform The Rite of Spring . The Rite of Spring was an avant-garde stage art at the time, and the French did not accept it. Igor felt that his talent was not appreciated. Igor’s creation was appreciated by the innovative Chanel. She not only funded Igor to continue his creation, but also let Igor and his wife and children move to her mansion to live with her.

She had socialized with French officer Etienne Balsan and British industrialist Arthur Capel , who funded her to open her first hat shop and fashion store. She traveled with the Duke of Westminster, which inspired her to design the first tweed suit. Every man in her life was a source of inspiration for her creativity. She did not rely on luck alone, but worked very hard and seriously. She even returned to work in her 70s.

Her hometown, Auvergne in central France, is a poor region full of extinct volcanoes. At the age of seventy, she once described herself as “the only active volcano in Auvergne that never dies.” Today, in the fashion industry where new talents emerge in large numbers and brands are complicated, Chanel is still an active volcano that never dies. The Chanel brand takes a high-end route, fashionable and simple, simple and comfortable, pure style, graceful and generous, youthful and beautiful. “Fashion is fleeting, style is eternal” is still the guiding force behind the brand; “The opposite of gorgeousness is not poverty, but vulgarity.”

Character evaluation

“Chanel was no angel, but she was no spy either. I know the documents she used very well.” “There have been many designers, some richer than she, but none who have changed their times like she has. She is often reduced to a celebrity who designed dresses, jewellery and handbags and had a shady private life – she is portrayed as a typical celebrity, but this does not explain why she was great, nor does it prevent us from understanding her as a ‘human’ person. This is unfair to a woman who played a major role in the formation of the modern world.”

Chanel’s tongue was like a pair of sharp scissors. She treated everyone very harshly and tried to play another person. No one could escape her vicious words, and she didn’t even have a friend she could trust. But no one built a business empire like her. Chanel liberated women from bras through bold simplification and invented a new way of dressing for women. She created a legend of a business empire. In her 30s, Chanel had become the richest woman in France. More importantly, she gained wealth through her own efforts. This legendary success story attracted biographers. In the New York Public Library, there are as many as 85 books about her, while Dior has only 24. 

Chanel never married in her life. She pursued freedom but was attached to men. She was strong and independent but also very feminine. She created a great fashion empire while pursuing the life she wanted. She is the best example of female autonomy and a new-age woman who understands the joy of love the most .

The so-called happiness is in your hands, which is because you are an independent, strong, emotional, and self-made woman. This is also the truth that Coco Chanel used her life to tell women all over the world.

Writing a detailed biography of Chanel is a racing challenge – she was like a chariot drawn by four horses. Chanel’s life was a complex one, her work, her love affairs, her artistic and political passions, and her business instincts constantly intertwined.