“I don’t like it when people talk about fashionChanel. Chanel is, first and foremost, style. "Fashion goes out of fashion. Style never", Coco Chanel For almost a hundred years of its existence, the Chanel brand has become synonymous with sophistication and femininity. The Chanel logo on a handbag or jacket buttons speaks for itself - you have met a successful, independent woman - a woman in the Chanel style. Coco rid the beautiful ladies of unnecessary clothes. She conducted an audit of the men's wardrobe in order to borrow creative ideas, redesigned the men's suit and "gave" it to us, women. She invented the bell-shaped hat and brought short women's hair into fashion. She was the first in the world to release artificial perfume. Offering legendary elegant two-piece suits and dresses instead of corsets, she won success among the Parisian elite. Her famous little black dress allowed women to feel as mobile, free and alive as men. Tight corsets, ruffles, voluminous hairstyles – all of this constrained women, and Coco Chanel simply abolished it and created a completely different fashion, a new style... There were many love affairs in her life, but none of them ended in marriage. Although, of course, she was proposed to more than once. Once, a famous duke proposed to her, to which Chanel replied: there are a lot of duchesses around, but she – Coco Chanel – is alone. For her, the meaning of life was her work. Here is what Salvador Dali said about her: “Coco Chanel told me that a legendary person is doomed to dissolve himself in a myth – and thereby strengthen the myth. She did just that. She invented everything for herself – a family, a biography, a date of birth and even a name.”
Early years Chanel
Coco Chanel's biography is full of secrets and mysteries.Her childhood was not radiant: she was born in an orphanage. It is believed that her date of birth is August 20, 1883, but Coco liked to confuse biographers by naming a completely different date - ten years later. Her mother was the daughter of a village carpenter, her father - a market trader. Despite the fact that she was the second child in the family, her parents' marriage was not registered (which was considered very bad form at that time). She received her real name Gabrielle in honor of the nurse who attended her during childbirth. At the age of eleven, little Gabrielle Chanel lost her mother - she died completely unexpectedly. After this, the father of the future fashion icon immediately handed over the children to an orphanage. Gabrielle Chanel never saw her father again. The years in the orphanage are perhaps the most terrible and unhappy memory in her life. That is why she simply crossed out several years of her childhood from her life - as if they had never happened. But all the trials she had to go through hardened her character and gave birth to a desperate dream in her heart - to escape poverty and become something more than a persecuted orphan.
Having become a young attractive woman, GabrielleChanel got a job in a women's clothing store, and in the evenings she worked as a singer in a cabaret. Her favorite songs were "Qui qua vu Coco" and "Ko Ko Ri Ko", for which the customers nicknamed her Coco. So Gabrielle turned into Coco. But this was only the beginning of her transformation. Chanel was not destined to become a great singer, but she was noticed by a retired officer, with whom she moved to live in Paris. Life in a beautiful castle quickly bored Coco, and she announced to her lover that she dreamed of becoming a milliner. However, at that time there were plenty of milliners in Paris, so the man began to persuade her from this rash act. After some time, she left him for a successful businessman, Arthur Capel. He became the love of her life. He suited her in everything: he was as purposeful, strong-willed and creative a person as she was. Arthur, unlike Coco's previous companion, was interested in her idea of a career as a milliner. And so Coco Chanel opened her first women's clothing store in Paris.
Coco Chanel: life as a creativity
One day Chanel decided to go horse riding.After suffering for several hours in an uncomfortable dress, she decided that she needed completely different clothes for horse riding. Taking a pair of jockey pants, she went to the tailor and asked him to sew her the same ones. The tailor was amazed and indignant: how could this be, men's clothing for a woman! However, Coco stubbornly repeated her order and left. A few days later, she greeted shocked guests in a new outfit - wide, spacious trousers. Despite all the eccentricity of the clothes, many ladies agreed that it was much more comfortable to ride a horse in this way. So in an instant, Coco Chanel became a trendsetter. Simple forms and clear lines that conceal flaws and emphasize the advantages of the figure - this style instantly became a symbol of elegance. Much of what has become everyday wardrobe today was created by the great Chanel. Women's trousers, checkered skirts, women's sailor suits, a handbag on a thin strap... During the First World War, Coco had already become famous outside of France, every item created by Chanel was an object of desire for any fashionista - be it a hat, a tracksuit or even work clothes. In 1921, the Chanel No. 5 fragrance was released, it became a favorite for millions of women of several generations around the world. By the way, if you did not know, Coco made the bottle of the legendary fragrance similar to a decanter of Russian vodka. Where did the Russian theme of the French fragrance come from? The thing is that at that time Coco ordered several fragrances from a Russian perfumer, French by origin, Ernst Beaux. From the presented measuring cups with fragrances, she chose her favorite number - the fifth in a row, which included more than 80 ingredients, and added lily of the valley to it. This is how the perfume Chanel No. 5 was born, which is associated with well-being and wealth.
Around the same time, my beloved died tragically.Coco Chanel's man - Arthur Capel. Sitting on the side of the road near a mangled car, Coco burst into tears, and when she returned home she painted the walls of her house black. Surprisingly, this immediately became another fashion trend: all of France began to select interior decor in black tones. A little later, Coco Chanel invented her little black dress, which literally became a symbol of the era of women's liberation. Ill-wishers assured that, by choosing black for her creation, Coco wanted the whole country to mourn her lost love. Recognition of the "little black dress" by Vogue magazine, compliments from Harpeer's Bazaar magazine for the accessories collection, the Fashion Oscar as the best designer of the 20th century in 1957 - this is only a small part of all the awards of the Chanel fashion house. Coco Chanel is the only woman on the list of one hundred significant people of the twentieth century, and the only representative of the fashion world. Chanel retained her chiseled figure until old age. Ideas for new outfits would come to her even in her sleep, and then she would wake up and start creating. Mademoiselle Chanel passed away on January 10, 1971, at the age of eighty-eight, in a suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which was located across the street from the world-famous Chanel House on rue Cambon. She left behind a huge cultural heritage, which today young designers look to for inspiration. After Coco's death, the Chanel fashion house released its first pret-a-porte collection and several fragrances. In 1983, Karl Lagerfeld took over the fashion house. With his vision of fashion and sense of style, without betraying the ideals and principles of Chanel, he took the brand to a new level. Lagerfeld is responsible for the pret-a-porter, haute couture and accessories collections. In 1984, the Chanel fashion house released the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance in honor of its founder, and in 1987 the first watch collection appeared. Lagerfeld also designed the Chanel eyewear collections. Today, Chanel boutiques dress women all over the world. We recommend reading:
