Website: www.chanel.com

Gabrielle was born on August l9th 1883 in the hospital for the poor in the French village of Saumur. Her birth certificate was mistakenly written "Chasnel" which made it easier for her to erase her actual history later on when she became famous and wanted to forget her poor beginnings.

When she was 12, her mother died and her father who was a travelling wine peddler, left her and her sister in a convent and disappeared forever. The convent was a sad experience for 6 years, for poor girls kept apart from the paying girls, wore a different uniform and were looked down on. A friend said much later that Coco was trying to put all the world's women into the uniform she wore then, a black dress with white collar.

At 18 she left the convent and worked in a tailoring shop but she aspired to be a music hall performer and tried singing for a while. Her nickname "Coco" came from a song she sang at this time about a little dog, although she later said it was a pet name used by her father for her. Although small, the Auvernois town where Chanel tried to launch her singing career, did have some compensations, among them a fashionable and aristocratic cavalry regiment. One of the regiment's officers, Etienne Balsan, a sportsman and horse breeder, soon noticed the young "Coco" and she became his mistress and went to live in his chateau at the age of 25.

Balsan's home was a magnet for his numerous hunting friends and their fashionable mistresses. As she started acquiring a foothold in this grand milieu, the young Coco attracted attention, not only for her bearing on a horse and her game courage but also for her striking defiant beauty.

She made and wore very attractive hats far from the huge decorated hats worn by other women. These were small and chic and women admired and asked for copies. So in 1908 Chanel began selling these simply decorated hats from Balsan's ground floor Paris apartment. Arthur "boy" Capel was a member of Balsan's circle, and he was the only one who worked for a living. Chanel became infatuated with him. As a businessman, he recognized a potential business- woman in Chanel and in 1910, set her up in a small shop on the rue Cambon in Paris.

Since there was already a couture shop in the building, her lease forbade her to also make couture dresses, but since jersey material was not considered couture dress material and making clothes of jersey would not affect her lease, she started using this material (up till then used only by French fishermen) to make simple navy jersey dresses.

In 1911 and 1912, rich ladies came to Deauville and Biarritz, the resort towns, for the races and the women vied to out do each other with frills, flounces, huge hats, tight corsets, long skirts and everything that Chanel detested. She and Capel both suspected that Chanel could dress others just as well as she could dress herself and so in 1913 they set up shops and Chanel courted the ladies with her revolutionary clothes. Little did they all know that within a year Deauville would be within earshot of the guns on the front lines of World War I, which would change this "belle epoch" and it's fashions forever.

Chanel was going to be part of a fashion revolution, not just in the radical simplicity of her style but even in the materials she used to achieve it and particularly the accessories she used. Jersey was a flexible silky material which clung to the body, a controversial choice for high fashion. Just as controversial was the length of her hemline, which made a woman's ankles visible. With jersey , Chanel declared, I have liberated the body. At that time, she said "you have to be light, quick, to run to catch a bus or a taxi, and in 1905 or 1910 you could not take two steps in the street. Her understanding of the sort of relationship that should be there between a woman and fashion, was unique to Chanel. She was completely modern in this respect.

During the War years, she moved into a larger shop on rue Cambon, across from the Ritz hotel. She started selling flannel blazers, straight linen skirts, sailor tops, long jersey sweaters and skirt-jacket Her suits even before 1920, had above-the-ankle skirts, three-quarter length coats loosely belted to reveal blouses that matched the jacket lining. She cut her hair into a short bob, wore small hats and a sun tan, and ensured that she herself was the best advertisement for her style.

Her simple styles reflected a general wartime sobriety throughout France. The War effort and the participation it required of women necessitated practical clothing and Chanel's new-found freedom of movement and image was not about to be cancelled out when the peace came. Chanel had instinctively grasped the essence of the new epoch which would crown her as its leader.

Later on she would say that she was the lone pioneer of simplicity at this time. This is not strictly true, but for the standard and spirit of that time, she is one remembered and that is the important thing. What Chanel understood was the importance of a name and it's promotion. She had a problem because when she was just getting going in 1911 or 1912, she was a woman of 28 who had a life which could not be investigated too closely. She had never been a young girl in Paris wearing chic clothes,. She had lovers, had been kept and had many secrets. So she careful covered up her personal history as far as she was able.

She repaid Capel's investment but still needed his love but unfortunately this was denied her, as he was killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve 1919. She said later that this was the year she became famous and the year she lost everything. Harpers Bazaar started mentioning her in 1915 and by 1917 said that "Chanel's name is on the lips of every buyer. In her salon at 31 rue Cambon, she piled cushions of feathers, fur and metallic fabrics on the sofas in the gray and amber salons and showed increasingly simple day dress-and-coat ensembles, often in "biscuit" jersey (later called beige) as well as black evening dresses in lace or jet-embroidered tulle. In 1916 Vogue mentioned "Gabrielle Chanel, known the world over for her sports frocks, is this season making evening gowns - a straight chemise of black charmeuse, embroidered with gold irises from waist to hem ."

The Twenties

During the Twenties, Chanel really established herself as the Queen of Fashion. She continued to make evening dresses notable for their exquisite simplicity. These chemises differed from the day counterparts only in their fabrics and the degree of intricate construction. In 1923 Harpers Bazaar described a Chanel evening frock as "little more than a breeze" This pale pink mousseline dress worked in three scalloped tiers with floating ties at the shoulders, was a forerunner of the soft, sheer, seemingly uncomplicated dresses that Chanel was known for throughout her life.

Like most couturiers of the Twenties, Chanel designed beaded dresses, and of course, hers were different. Usually constructed in the round (as opposed to being two flat panels stitched together) they were based on the shapes of her other designs and the patterns - if she used them - were geometric, worked in colour combinations of black, beige and white, or in striking monochromatic infusions of black or white or red.

Another trademark that surfaced in the Twenties was her unorthodox combinations of fabrics: plain and patterned wool jersey in a single outfit, (horizontal strips are particularly Chanel) or a then-surprising juxtaposition of patterned floral silks with tweeds. The ever-present Chanel perfectionism was evident in the exquisite co-ordination of different fabrics and prints; a floral-printed silk cut out and appliqued to the collars and cuffs of a tweed jacket; the matching of a coat lining to the fabric, of the of consistent colours and motifs in buttons, belts and lapel flowers.

Chanel introduced her first costume jewellery in 1924 (a pair of pearl earrings, one black, one white) and she now began to elaborate this vision. Pieces grew in size and became more Byzantine, with the use of yellow gold, baroque pearls and rough uncut purposely flawed gems. Other pieces were collars of enameled leaves and flowers or pearls tied with real ribbon bows.

She wore large clunky button-type earrings and strands of beads interlaced with chains of faceted stones. These became her trade-mark. She favoured masses of the stuff, mixing small and large stones, throwing in the occasional semi-precious gem with a pound or two of imitation, piling the whole of it on top of one of her suits and wearing it in broad daylight. The effect was stunning.

Chanel's early-Twenties Russian look has been attributed to her liaison with Russian Grand Duke Dmitri. This consisted of tunic shapes and Slavic embroideries and developed out of her other elaborately embroidered, yet simply shaped clothing. This style reflected the general "Russianization" of Paris which occurred after the Russian Revolution, when the city became home to many people who had fled Russia. Their influence briefly affected Paris fashions.

The Suit

Chanel's most famous design - instantly recognized in it's hundreds of variations - is the suit in two or three pieces. First made around 1920 it is still popular today. Although Chanel borrowed many details from men's wear, her suits were never imitating men. Usually soft and untailored, made in jersey, velvet, silk charmeuse or tweed, these suits share the practical constants of boxy cardigan jackets with sleeve buttons that really button up, pockets where one needs pockets and straight knee-length skirts with walking pleats.

Chanel disapproved of suits that could be worn only with the jacket closed so she designed jackets that looked good open, closed or draped over a shoulder. She made blouses which were an integral part of the ensemble, using fabrics matching the suit's lining, printed in corresponding colours or made in school-girl white with immaculate collar and cuffs. Women are dependent on this look even today.

The Little Black Dress

No less a Chanel trademark is the "little black dress" which she was advocating as the new uniform for afternoon and evening as far back as 1915. Deceptively simple, these dresses were wizardry's of cut and proportion. She used traditional elegant materials lace, tulle, embroideries, soft weightless silks - in a newly tailored way. Worn with a cardigan of the same fabric as the suit on the next hanger, the little black dress made women wearing anything else seem overdressed .

Chanel was determined to "rid women of their frills from head to toe" and said "each frill discarded makes one look younger" It was Chanel who attended the races at Deauville where other women appeared in silks and laces, wearing a Shetland sweater and pearls. She "cropped and edited" and her lean chic triumphed.

She claimed that during the intermission at an opera gala, she saw masses of women in the brilliant clashing colours of Poiret's new dawn. Chanel, the champion of beige and neutrals was repelled. "This can't go on, I'm going to stick them all into little black dresses. Chanel was accused in invading haute couture with the style of the working girl of creating "deluxe poor look".

She may have been the first couturier to understand one of the most profound changes of the century, the fact that it was not longer fitting or desirable for a woman, in the clothes she wore daily, to create the impression of great wealth. Women now wanted elegance in line, cut and detail in clothes that did not (at first) appear expensive. Chanel was the first to sense this and the first to respond with the neat chic of her sweaters, trimmed with crisp white collars, her 'little' knitted suits and here 'little' black dresses. She believed strongly that women should never overdress during the day and a trim tailored suit was fitting for drinks before dinner.

Poiret fought her with richer silks and velvets, more extravagant motifs and he failed. Later he wrote ''we should have been on our guard against this miss with the head of a young boy who was going to cause all hell to break loose and pull out dresses, hair styles, jewelry and sweaters from her magician's hat."

VOGUE said "Chanel's silhouette, staying close to the lines of the uncorseted figure, begins to make the skirts of Lanvin look old-fashioned and Poiret too theatrical. Everything Chanel does makes news - the first quilted coat, the narrow crepe de chine dress inside a cape of tulle, and the suntan which she cultivates".

As her business grew, so did Chanel's social desirability and her personal legend. Her success and her fortune were her entree and she manipulated them brilliantly. She now had a new lover the Duke of Westminster, fabulously wealthy and she was photographed descending tanned and in trousers, from his yacht, in the South of France. The Paris of the twenties was the city of the artist, writer and thinker, the new women seized on the chic, the dash and glamour. Chanel from her mansion on the Faubourg St. Honore, played hostess to this new world, friends with Picasso, Stravinsky, Cocteau, Hemingwayand many others. Colette called her "a little black bull" because she was shrewd, tough but infinitely charming

In the thirties Coco used to carry around a little dog, who she called "Gigot".

PERFUMES

Chanel No. 5-5 was Coco Chanel's lucky number. In 1921 when Earnest Beaux created a new perfume for Gabrielle Chanel, she used her lucky number. This was the perfume that would make her fortune. Her trade-mark simplicity was expressed in the shape of the bottle, a design which has never been altered and helps to make it the world's largest selling perfume.

Chanel had not simply found the right perfume, but the perfect way to market it. She was the first designer to do so in her own name. She enabled clients who could not perhaps afford her clothes, to share in her aura. The name on the label was a product as much as the perfume itself.

She also brought out No. 22 in the year 1922, Gardenia in 1925 to celebrate Chanel's favourite flower, and Boise de Iles in 1926. In 1927 she brought out Cuir de Russie based on the male fragrance. In 1970, one year before Chanel's death, Henri Robert created No. 19. It's name marks her birthday (l9th August) and is known as Chanel's other great number, as it is the house's second best selling perfume.

All these perfumes had exactly the same shaped bottle.

Crystalle was created by Henri Robert and launched in 1974. It's freshness makes it a summer favourite, and it fitted into the new mood of feminine independence.

Coco was created by Jacques Polge in 1984 in homage to Coco Chanel. It is known as the first "western" oriental perfume.

Allure is the newest of the Chanel fragrances, launched in 1996 and is a combination of classic elegance and youthful freshness.

During the late Seventies Andy Warhol, the celebrated artist who painted the Marilyn Monroe and Campbell Soup can paintings, also did a set of silk-screen prints. of Chanel No. 5 in his own inimitable style.

Chanel also makes Egoiste Platinum for men also Anteuas for men, Eau de toilette and After Shave lotion.

The Thirties

At the end of the twenties, Chanel's love affair with the Duke of Westminster came to an end. She was heart-broken when he married Lady Emilia Ponsonby in 193O. It was London's wedding of the year and Winston Churchill was the best man. Chanel spent that summer in the South of France with Gabriella Labruin, her grand-niece whom she always considered to be her own child.

Stage Costume

In addition to her fashion work, Chanel designed stage costumes for such playwriters as Jean Cocteau. She scandalised the audience with her bandage-like costumes for his Oedipus Rex in 1937. shown here on the left. She used the one element of classical dress most well-known, the ancient practice of wrapping rather than tailoring cloth to fit the body. To read more about Jean Cocteau, click on his name above.

With the arrival of the Thirties, Chanel's evening clothes became more elongated, more feminine and by the end of the decade, almost fantastical. For summer evening dresses, she surprised with contrasting scintillating touches like rhinestone straps or silver eyelets. In 1937 , struck by how small women looked when seated at the theatre, she showed a collection of head dresses designed to lend height; confections of tulle, silk flowers and the increasingly evident Chanel ribbon bow. Her evening dresses became even more romantic, sometimes strapless, they had full skirts and boned bodices, flounces and ruffles (all the things Chanel had sworn to do away with in 1915).

A competitive situation developed in the thirties between Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, whom Chanel referred to as "that Italian artist who makes clothes". Schiaparelli's influence was only limited to the one decade but for this short time, she was the more sensational. This did not however force Chanel into trying to do the same thing. Her style was faultlessly elegant, modern and matchlessly chic.

The War Years

The Chanel style of elegance with a foundation of comfort, ease and practicality, continued throughout the thirties. In 1939 when World War II began, Chanel closed her salon. She did not however leave France but took up residence at the Ritz Hotel. From June 1940 the Nazi High Command had made the Ritz Hotel their headquarters so a rumour spread throughout Paris that Chanel was on more than friendly terms with the Germans. In fact she was in love with a German tennis player turned solder named Nobel von Dinklager. When Paris was liberated in 1945 the French took revenge on women who had collaborated with the Germans, but Chanel managed to escape any retribution by producing a letter from Winston Churchill whom she had know well in the Twenties. However within a week of the liberation of Paris she left for Switzerland and she remained there until 1953.

The Come back.

By 1953 Paris had forgotten Chanel. Dior's "new look" had everyone excited in 1947 and there were many new and successful designers in Paris. However Chanel, goaded primarily by the boredom of retirement and a decline in perfume sales, displayed here usual sense of perfect timing. The impact of the "new look" was waning and the stage was set for a return to elegant chic.

At the age of 71 she prepared her new collection in her old salon on the rue Cambon. Karl Lagerfeld later said " they were abominable, the French press killed her even before they saw the clothes. They were very very mean and not because of the clothes, because the German connection was too near. I liked the collection very much. There was one navy blue suit with a bow tie and a hat leaning back with a bow on the neck, navy blue, like a school teacher, but I think it was the most chic garment in the collection. And the Americans loved it, and her clothes became a craze a short while afterwards."

America sold Chanel, France rejected her, made fun of her, said she was finished, said her suits looked like the thirties, but American buyers saw she was dynamic. Even when she was over 80 she could still pack her salon at rue Cambon. She always said 'fashion fades only style remains the same'

In 1957 she introduced her chain handled quilted leather handbags which have gone on to be so successful.

She died on January 10th 1971 at the age of 88 still in harness, still designing, still working.

Chanel pioneered:

Suits for women	Costume Jewellery
Trousers for women	Patch pockets
Twin sets	Vaporous gowns
Use of jersey	Sequined sheaths
Use of tweed	Sling pump
Short hair	Quilted handbags
Sun tans	Pleated skirts
Hair bands	Gilt buttons
Ardenia flower scent	Button ear rings
Ribbon bows	Braiding and edging
Chainweight hems	Synthetic perfumes
Matching jacket lining with blouse
Concept of white on black
Multiple strands of necklaces

After her death, the house of Chanel was looked after by Yvonne Dudel, Jean Cazaubon and Phlippe Guibourge. The Chanel suit and the Little Black Dress were sold in their usual vast quantities, and all the Chanel products sold very well, but the sparkle had gone. Pierre Wetheimer who had manufactured No. 5 for Coco Chanel, had bought the house. His grandson Alain Wertheimer, took over in 1974 when he was 25 years old. He spent a few years trying to restore Chanel's prestige and sought a new designer for the house. Chanel needed someone to put life back into the veritable house. That someone was Karl Lagerfeld.

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SS 2003