The Fashion Designer - Coco Chanel

Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883,  Coco Chanel would become one of the most important female fashion designers of the early 20th century.  Chanel was born in Samur, France to a poor, at the time, unwed couple.  After Chanel's mother died, her father sent all of his daughters to a nearby convent.  There Chanel was educated and learned how to sew.  At 18 Chanel had to choose between joining the religious community or making her own way in the world.  She chose to leave.

Chanel found work as a seamstress, but would also sing in a cabaret often. She gained her nickname "Coco" because of her version of the popular song "Ko Ko Ri Ko".  Much of her early life Chanel did not care to recount and sometimes she would even make up stories of her past or deny certain facts about her past.  After her aspiration of a stage career failed, Chanel met one of her first lovers, Balsan.  She lived with him for about three years and was introduced to wealth and luxury for probably the first time in her life.  In 1908 she began her affair with Balsan's friend Arthur 'Boy' Capel.  They were together for nine years and Capel even helped finance Chanel's first shop.  He died in a car accident in 1919, a devastating event for Chanel.  Chanel would have other relationships in her life, but these initial affairs launched her into the next stage of her life.

Chanel's first shop was a boutique in Deauville.  She sold luxury casual clothing made from cheap jersey.  In 1916, after success in Deauville, Chanel opened another boutique in Biarritz.  Three years later in 1919, Chanel was registered a couturier and was able to establish a maison de couture.  Chanel enjoyed continued success and made the acquaintance of many important people including Winston Churchill.  During World War II, Chanel closed her store.  During this time she lived at the Hotel Ritz and even had a relationship with a German officer.  It is even believed that she worked as a Nazi agent for a time during the war.  She reopened her fashion house in 1954.  Chanel died at 87 years old in 1971.  I definitely skipped over certain parts of Chanel's life because it is very well documented and I could probably write five more paragraphs just on her biography!  Chanel is a heroine for women because as she said herself "[She] freed the body" from the constraints of corsets and other unnecessary or over the top elements of female attire in the years before.  She brought new things to women's fashion, daring things like the "Chanel" suit or the little black dress.

Learn more about Chanel at these links!

Coco Chanel - Voguepedia

Coco Chanel wikipedia