Coco Chanel - The Passion For Beauty
The renowned designer Coco Chanel had a huge contribution to the fashion industry and established a true empire.
Chanel is an iconic name, a milestone in the evolution of fashion, whether we talk about clothing, jewelry, accessories, or perfume.
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the real name of Coco Chanel, was born on 19 August 1883 in Saumur, France. She was passionate about beauty from childhood. She grew up in an orphanage, where she also took sewing lessons.
No one could have imagined that Coco Chanel would become an iconic figure in the fashion world in years to come. But at the age of 29, she opened a small shop selling hats of her design. Her success was to be truly rapid.
Coco Chanel Had A Passion For Beauty
Coco Chanel created practical clothes, ladies' jackets, and a woolen jumper so comfortable and easy to wear, even if at first it was considered too simple for an elegant dress.
Who can forget the black dress that still bears her name today, or the famous Chanel No 5 perfume?
She was the first stylist to impose black in fashion. Her little black dress soon became not only highly sought-after but also characteristic of Chanel's style.
Coco Chanel produced a true revolution in feminine fashion with her unique designs.
Her creations were like a milestone that marked the transition from stiff, loose-fitting clothes to refined designs. She used light and comfortable materials, with practical designs, but retained all the time a special note of elegance.
When they first appeared, Chanel's creations shocked the fashion industry and the public alike by breaking down all previous barriers, but now they are a benchmark of elegance. Coco Chanel loved to reinvent fashion.
Coco Chanel presented the two-or three-piece suit, with the collarless, boxy jacket, simple clean lines, bordered by a hem of a different color, large gold buttons, knee-length skirt, strings of pearls of different sizes, and an exquisite hat.
Mademoiselle broke down class barriers with her creations that brought freedom to women while giving them femininity, grace, and elegance. What's more, the textiles used were cheap. She introduced jerseys, which until then have only been used to make underwear.
Cheaper replicas have been appearing ever since, but Mademoiselle didn't mind. On the contrary, she wanted her clothes to be worn everywhere, by as many people as possible.
Coco Chanel And Her Contribution To Perfumes And Jewelry
Chanel also launched numerous accessories to complement her creations: gold necklaces, strings of pearls, handbags with gold chain straps, and many more, which surprised, and often shocked but were also highly appreciated.
The jewelry Coco Chanel presented was made of affordable materials, initially imitating expensive pieces made of precious metals and stones. Then, her collections of costume jewelry became more and more sought after, and her creations even became popular with elite clients, who could afford gold, diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, but preferred Chanel jewelry.
Later, the famous fashion designer would adopt the pseudonym Coco, which she also transformed into a brand like a coat of arms for a veritable fashion empire, which included a tailoring workshop, a textile factory, and above all a range of perfumes. In 1921, Chanel No.5, the best-selling perfume in history was launched.
Chanel No.5 was created for Coco by master perfumer Ernest Beaux. The origin of the perfume's name, however, is shrouded in mystery. Some say it was simply the fifth variant Beaux presented to her. Others claim that 5 was the fashion designer's lucky number. The fact is that the fragrance broke sales records by moving away from the floral scents favored at the time to create a more abstract and powerful scent, and it appears to have been launched on May 5.
Even the Chanel No.5 perfume bottle was a new concept, leaving behind the carefully sculpted containers for an Art Deco design with simple, clean, clean lines.
Coco Chanel set out to launch this perfume after a meeting with her best friends in Monte Carlo, wanting a fragrance that represented her style and personality, reflecting the sensuality and complexity of modern women.
Few people know that it takes a ton of flowers to create a pound of perfume: Ylang-Ylang is sourced from Madagascar and Mayotte, the May rose used blooms only 3 weeks a year, and Jasmine is sourced from Grasse, France.
Chanel N°5 had the first commercial script in history. Filmed in 1969 in New York by Richard Avedon, it became the most expensive commercial in history at the time.
Coco Chanel Exiled
After World War II ended, Coco Chanel was accused of collaborating with the Nazis because of her love affair with a German officer. Her popularity declined dramatically. She was even briefly arrested but released on the intervention of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whom she had met on several occasions. So Coco Chanel decided to leave France, self-exiling to Switzerland, where she began designing perfumes and lived for over a decade.
But her creations were to bring her back into the public eye, so in 1954 she returned to France, and especially to the fashion scene. Chanel's designs become very popular in the West and especially in the US.
Coco Chanel - A Passion For Beauty Passed On
The famous fashion designer Coco Chanel died on 10 January 1971, so the future of the company was in doubt.
Two designers who had been at Coco's side in recent years, Gaston Berthelot and Ramon Esparza, took over the company, followed by Yvonne Dudel and Jean Cazaboun, who designed the company's designs from 1975 to 1983.
But in 1983, an old friend of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, decided to take control of the company and restore its luster, offering new and new designs in various materials, perfectly suited to the eclectic style of the 1980s.
In the mid-1990s Chanel made a surprising acquisition, buying Eres, which specialized in beachwear, but it seems to have been a financial investment, with Chanel designers choosing not to get involved in Eres productions.
The company is now controlled by the Wertheimer family. Financial details are not publicly known, as the company maintains a legendary discretion, but sales figures seem to be on the rise.
Chanel has more than 100 stores worldwide, 35 of them in Japan, where the Chanel brand is particularly successful.
One thing is certain: the Chanel brand is renowned around the world, and the artist's passion for beauty left behind a veritable fashion empire.
