Coco Chanel: The story of Chanel, Fashion icon during the day & Spy at night
Hello little grasshoppers today I’ll be sharing the story of Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel and how Chanel came to be one of the most important and iconic luxury brand to date.
Early life
Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel better known as Coco Chanel was born on August 19, 1883 in France.
She had a rough childhood marked by poverty and after the death of her mother at the age of 12 her father put Chanel and her sisters in an orphanage, there she was raised by nuns who were the ones who taught her how to sew and where her passion for fashion began, she left the orphanage at the age of 18.
Coco Chanel’s first Maison de Couture in Biarritz
Later, Chanel started working as a sales assistant and seamstresses in the Maison Grampayre shop in Moulins and she also worked singing in a cafe for a few years.
Being a seamstress made her associated with several wealthy men, one of those being Arthur Capel who provided her with financial assistance to open a millinery shop (a hat shop) in Paris in 1910. Later on, opening a second boutique in Deauville 1913, where she sold clothing and bags that were designed for sports and for casual wearing. In 1915, She opened her first Maison de Couture in Biarritz. In 1918, she bought the 31 Rue Cambon building in Paris, this where in 1921 she launched the iconic Chanel N°5 perfume. During the 1920s Chanel kept gaining more popularity and success, during these years some of the things she released were Chanel N°22 perfume (1922), Chanel’s first makeup collection (1924), In 1927 she launched her first skincare range, ( + more )
The Little Black Dress
In 1926 Chanel published a pictures of a short simple black dress in Vogue, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes and also a recurrent wear of ladies with sophisticated tastes. The little black dress changed the fashion world at that time, with its bold and effortless statement. The influence of the little black dress was so big that its design was later on passed and influenced brands for years to come, even now it’s such a must have in every woman’s closet.
Chanel in Hollywood
Chanel made it to Hollywood in 1931 after the American producer Samuel Goldwyn requested her to design the costumes for the films: Tonight or Never (1931) and The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932)
World War & Nazi Accusations
Due to World War II during 1939, Chanel closed her shops, as she stated “it was not a time for fashion”. During this time her reputation was tainted due to her association with the Nazi, her political views and her dislike for Jews.
During the war she resided at the Hotel Ritz and she began a romantic affair with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage, a German officer, later on she became an intelligence operative for the Nazis aka an Nazi spy and began to surround herself with German officers.
It wasn’t until the liberation of Paris in 1944 that Chanel was arrested by the French government on charges of treason to France but she was released shortly after.
When the Nazi seizure all Jewish-owned businesses and property Chanel used it to her advantage to gain the full profits of Parfums Chanel since the director and the one who help fund the company was Pierre Wertheimer, which was Jewish. Chanel used her position as an Aryan to petition German officials to legalize her claim to get full ownership.
But what she did not see coming was that Wertheimer was already anticipating this move from the Nazis so in May of 1940 he handed over control of Parfums Chanel over to Félix Amiot, who was a Christian French businessman and industrialist and at the end of the war Amiot returned the Parfums Chanel to Wertheimer. Chanel later on sued Wertheimer, but they came to mutual agreements.
After War
Chanel returned to Paris in 1954 to revive her fashion house and her career picked up quickly.
During the 60s more celebrities were dressing in Chanel, the most prominent being Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda.
During this year, she also went to Pierre Wertheimer who we talked about previosly, for advice and money, and regardless of their beefy past he decided to help her and in return for his help he was able to secured the rights for Chanel as a whole, not just the perfumes as before.
Chanel’s Passing
On January 10th 1971 Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel passes away at the age of 87 years old.
Later on, in 1983 Karl Lagerfeld is named artistic director of Chanel all the way until his passing on February 19, 2019 :(.
Present Time
Now, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer (brothers) Pierre Wertheimer’s grandsons are the ones who own Chanel now and are worth around $96 billion and its basically now their legacy, silly how the world works, could you say this is karma? with Chanel’s mentioned past and dilemma with Pierre Wertheimer, I don’t know I find it crazy and silly.
Even with all the controversy that came with Chanel it’s one of the reasons of why the brand is so succesful as well as its popularity among the wealthy and her fashionalbe designs. Chanel revolutionized the way women dressed and brought this elegant, rich and simple sense of style.
Chanel is the oldest active haute couture house. The company’s commitment to craftsmanship and quality is one of the reasons that make Chanel so special. To this day Chanel is one of the most prestigious and luxurious fashion brands in the world, their designs being classy and timeless.
I hope you guys enjoyed this entry and that you got to learn a bit more about this iconic brand and a bit more about who created it and all the story behind it :)
