COCO CHANEL

'Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel' (August 19, 1883 – January 10, 1971)^[1] was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her arguably the most important figure in the history of 20th-century fashion. Her influence on haute couture was such that she was the only person in the field to be named on TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century.^[2]

Contents

Early life

Origin of Coco

The Chanel Empire

Later Years

In Pop Culture

References

External links

Early life

She was born the second illegitimate daughter of traveling salesman Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle in the small city of Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. Her parents married in 1883. She had five siblings: two sisters, Julie (1882-1913) and Antoinette (born 1887) and three brothers, Alphonse (born 1885), Lucien (born 1889) and Augustin (born and died 1891). In 1895, when she was 6 years old, Chanel's mother died; her father left the family a short time later to find fortune in America. The young Chanel spent seven years in the orphanage of the Catholic monastery of Aubazine, where she learned the trade of a seamstress.

Origin of Coco

The origin of the nickname Coco is uncertain. Many sources indicate that it was acquired at La Rotonde, a cafe frequented by members of a French cavalry regiment and many of the artists who flocked to Paris' Montparnasse section at the turn of the 20th century. It was there that Chanel, then a cabaret singer, performed a song called "Qui qu'a vu Coco", ''Who has seen Coco'', and the name stuck. Other sources state that her audiences cried "Coco" when they wanted an encore, while further sources state that the song was called "Ko Ko Ri Ko," French for "Cock-a-doodle-do."
After affairs with generous wealthy men – including a military officer and textile heir, Étienne Balsan, and Balsan's friend, an English industrialist and sportsman, Arthur "Boy" Capel – she opened her first shop in 1910 at the 21 rue Cambon, then opened a boutique in Deauville in 1913 and a couture house in 1915. She moved her firm to 31 rue Cambon in 1918. Her romances with the artist,Paul Iribe,the 2nd Duke of Westminster, and Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia all had a considerable influence on the stylistic evolution of her fashions.

The Chanel Empire

The influential Chanel suit, launched in 1923, it was an elegant suit comprising a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black trim and gold buttons and worn with large costume-pearl necklaces. Coco Chanel also popularized the little black dress, whose blank-slate versatility allowed it to be worn for day and evening, depending on how it was accessorized. Although unassuming black dresses existed before Chanel, the ones she designed were considered the haute couture standard. In 1923, she told Harper's Bazaar that "simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." Chanel always kept the clothing she designed simple and comfortable. She took what was considered poor fabrics like jersey and upgraded them."

Later Years

For more than 30 years, Gabrielle Chanel made the Hôtel Ritz Paris her home, even during the Nazi occupation of Paris. During that time she was criticized for having an affair with Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German officer who arranged for her to remain in the hotel. She also maintained an apartment above her Rue Cambon couture house and built Villa La Pausa in the town of Roquebrune on the French Riviera. However, she spent her later years in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she is buried. Her tombstone is carved with five stone lion heads. ^[3]

In Pop Culture

In 1969, Chanel was portrayed on the Broadway stage by Katharine Hepburn in a musical by Andre Previn and Alan Jay Lerner, and on screen by the French actress Marie-France Pisier. Written by William Luce, a new play based on her life, entitled 'Crème de Coco,' is also debuting in April, 2007 at St. Ambrose University and will be directed by Philip Wm. McKinley (director of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, The Boy From Oz).
In 2008, a new film entitled ''Coco Avant Chanel'' (Coco Before Chanel) will be released, starring Audrey Tatou as Chanel^[4]. The film will showcase Chanel before she became famous.
The House of Chanel in Paris, under Karl Lagerfeld, remains one of the largest design houses today.

References

1. Madamoiselle Chanel: The Perennially Fashionable
2. Coco Chanel Ingrid Sischy
3. Findagrave
4. http://audrey-tautou.org/?p=173

External links

★ Official Site of Chanel

★ Discuss Coco Chanel at Fashion Forum

★ Biography resources dedicated to Coco Chanel

★ Biography of Coco Chanel