Coco Chanel - success story and biography

Coco Chanel (fr. Coco Chanel).
Coco Chanel - her real name is Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel.
Chanel was born on August 19, 1883. Needless to say, Chanel was a French fashion designer whose inspiration and modernism made her one of the most famous in 20th century fashion history - everyone knows that.

It all began in the small town of Saumur, where Chanel's parents, Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devol, ended up. Coco's father was a wandering merchant and did not sit in one place. For some time, the parents were not legally married - he needed a girlfriend, but not a wife. Jeanne did not have such an opinion, she loved Albert, and her love was so strong that, most likely, it was no longer just love, but a disease. She could not part with Albert, no matter what it cost her. Jeanne had to earn the support of all the arriving family members with hard work: working in the kitchen, piles of linen. She had to struggle to get a place in the kitchen, a place for an ironer or a maid. Her health was melting, but she was ready to demolish everything, just to be close to her husband. Jeanne died when Gabrielle was only six years old. And then her father left her with her brothers and sisters. From that moment on, Gabrielle was in the care of relatives, then in the shelter to which she was sent when she was 12 years old. At the age of 18, Koko, with the help of a charitable organization, ended up in a boarding school for children from noble families. And then she got a job as a seller in a fabric store in the city of Moulins. She dreamed of becoming a singer and in her free time in the Rotunda cafe she sang the songs "The One Who Saw Coco" and "Ko-Ko-Ri-Ko". That's when they called her Coco.

Soon Chanel met the wealthy heir, Etienne Balzan. He had an estate near Paris where he raised horses. To his offer to become a mistress, she answered with consent - she had long wanted to move to Paris and, moreover, Gabrielle knew that everything in life had to be paid for. It was here that she became an excellent rider and began to make her adorable hats, which conquered everyone with their novelty and charm. And it was here that she realized how women bow before men, trying to please, and lose the battle.

For herself, Coco decided that from any battle, she would emerge victorious. As a child, she lacked love, she was surrounded by indifference - all this left an imprint. And Gabrielle learned to fight and win, and most importantly, she learned to sew. And no matter what she did - a hat or clothes that fit so well on her that she could not think about it - everything attracted the attention of those around her. And then Chanel realized that she has something that should be used, that is, the gift of creative thought, and most importantly, the ability to survive.

Balzan was succeeded by Arthur Capel, a wealthy heir to the coal mines, an excellent businessman who died in 1919 in a car accident. He helped her become a business woman. In 1910, she opened her first store in Paris, selling women's hats, a year later, her fashion house opened on rue Rue Cambon, where she is now.
Simplicity and luxury were in Chanel's creations. She managed to remove the corset from the consciousness of women, took advantage of masculine elegance to create in the wardrobe of women such free and necessary things as men's cut shirts, ties, riding pants, jackets, in which there was severity and at the same time charm, superiority and obedience. In 1918, Chanel expanded her business. She delighted with an evening dress made of black lace and tulle embroidered with beads, a dress-coat made of beige jersey.All this seemed simple, but at the same time luxurious - a real miracle of tailoring.

“Fashion is something that exists not only in clothes. Fashion is in the air. It is connected with our thoughts and our way of life, with what is happening around us. "

Her best creations: a little black dress, which, in 1926, the American magazine Vogue equated with the popularity of the car "Ford" and called it the "Ford" of fashion, cascades of pearls on a simple string, two-tone shoes, pumps, fitted jacket, camellia made of white silks that have become symbols of her brand. Her jewelry had a stunning effect, combining the luxury of emeralds or pearls with her own fine jewelry. The combination of precious stones with artificial ones was a bold find, which she used as luxurious jewelry.

Her brooches are made of colored glass and handbags with chain over the shoulder made a stunning effect, they were later produced by various fashion companies around the world. They are still considered classics, and women of fashion are ready to give decent sums for them.
Her little black dress could be worn day and night by adding a string of pearls or other accessories.

The ideas she created at the beginning of the twentieth century have remained eternal because elegance defies the influence of time. The motto of the appearance of her models was simplicity and mobility. Chanel made many of her discoveries by spying on this or that image or some element among folk clothes. For example, the Russian style with embroidery and fur trim, geometric patterns, rubberized raincoats, the model of which she saw when she saw her in the clothes of her chauffeur. She was the first to use knitwear in a women's wardrobe.

Chanel was on friendly terms with many people of art: Picasso, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and did not stay away from the avant-garde direction. But she never changed her principles. For her, a hat in the shape of a telephone or a skirt, in which one could not walk, but only mince, were unacceptable. Therefore, what was later called the "Chanel look" meant an uncompromising view of fashion, where there is measure and convenience in everything and no extremes. “You should always clean up, remove all unnecessary things. There is no need to add anything ... There is no other beauty but freedom of the body ... ". Having become a fashion designer, she felt satisfaction and believed that she had won when her ideas were picked up by the street, and her models were among the common people. Her principles were to create simple, strict models with clear lines, models that emphasize strengths and hide weaknesses.

Chanel provided material support to many artists. For example, she financed some productions of the Russian Ballet, for many years supported the composer Igor Stravinsky, helped pay the costs of Jean Cocteau's treatment.
In the dexterity with which she knew how to give chic to any product, one could feel not only taste, but above all the ability to “make something out of nothing”.

Her clients learned to please, going against the existing fashion. Gabrielle had no shortage of ideas, and she knew how to sell, as her father and grandfather did in their time. Gabrielle inherited family qualities - she was hardy at work. Work and achieve success ... Chanel did not paint her models, she created them with scissors and pins, right on the models. A few hand movements were enough for her to create luxury from formless matter. Sometimes ideas came to her in a dream, she woke up and began to work.
She worked 12-14 hours a day and demanded the same from her colleagues. Not everyone was allowed to endure such work. Chanel possessed a combination of aristocracy and, at the same time, a tough business acumen. When she set herself a goal, she always achieved it. According to rough estimates, in the 20s and 30s, her modeling business gave $ 200-300 thousand a year.

Chanel was a great artist. She wanted to create not only new silhouettes, but also to bring new sensations of life. Many years later it will be called the “lifestyle”.
Coco Chanel one of the representatives of haute couture magazine "Time" included in the list of one hundred most influential people of the XX century.
She marked her 40th birthday with the release of completely new perfumes, in which there is no smell of some kind of flower. She was assisted in this by the Grand Duke Dmitry and the Russian émigré perfumer Ernest Bo.

The Second World War began. In 1940, she had to turn to a German diplomat to help out her nephew, who had been taken prisoner. She had known the diplomat for a long time. And when he helped her, her affection for him increased even more. At the end of the war, circumstances are such that Chanel has to leave France for almost eight long years. She was accused not only of having a love affair with a German baron, but also of contacts with the head of the German foreign intelligence department, Schellenberg, assistant commander of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.

She was threatened with arrest. Winston Churchill himself stood up for Chanel, who once wrote about her in his diary: “The famous Coco has arrived, and I admired her. She is one of the smartest and most charming, the most powerful woman I have ever had to deal with. "
Chanel closed all her boutiques and left for Switzerland.

From there, she followed the changes taking place in the fashion world. New couturiers have appeared, such as Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and others. Chanel was 71 when she returned to Paris again and offered her collection. But the show of her models took place in complete silence of the public. Chanel wanted to prove to everyone that fashion changes, but style remains, but the press said that she did not offer anything new. But not everyone is given to understand that elegance is eternal. Chanel improved its models, and a year later, almost all women of fashion considered it an honor to dress at Chanel. The famous Chanel costume has become immortal, you feel comfortable and free in it, and this is also thanks to the right fabric - light tweed. The suit guarantees reliability in all situations.

Chanel handbags, shoes and jewelry have become classics. In the 60s, she collaborated with Hollywood studios. Chanel's fashion will not become obsolete, because it is based on the philosophical concept of Chanel: "You don't have to be young and beautiful to look great."
Chanel left our world on January 10, 1971, Sunday, at the age of 88, in a room at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Time Magazine has estimated its annual income at $ 160 million.
However, she never extolled wealth and did not extol money. Chanel found among the prominent figures of art those friends whom she was proud of. Although her life was completely subordinated to work - creating clothes, love remained the most important thing for her. What is striking in her is not only the success she achieved, not only her popularity, but also the fact that she managed to remain mysterious. Incomprehensible Chanel ...

Like Chanel, her sign is immortal: two crossed letters C - Coco Chanel and a white camellia on a black satin bow.

Since 1983 he has been managing the Chanel fashion house and is its chief designer Karl Lagerfeld.