Hello everyone and welcome back, todays post is 'all about Chanel'. Coco Chanel is one of my favourite and most influential fashion designers of all time. As I previously wrote a blog post all about the Roaring 20s I decided I would expand on it and write a blog post about the most influential designer of that era.
Childhood:
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, aka Coco Chanel, was born in 1883 in a charity hospital in France. At her official registry neither parents could attend due to illness and work matters which lead to Gabrielle's name being misspelt as 'Chasnel'. Her mother Eugenie Jeanne Devolle, a laundrywoman and her father Albert Chanel, a street vendor (someone who sells items on the street) were not married when Chanel was born. In 1884 the couple got married and ended up having a total of five children, two boys and three girls.
At the age of 12 Gabrielle's mother died and her father sent the two sons to work as farm labourers and sent the three girls to an orphanage. It was at the orphanage that she learned to sew for 6 years which inspired her future career. At the age of 18 Gabrielle moved to a boarding house in Moulins for Catholic girls as she was too old to live in the orphanage.
Career and love:
Due to her sewing ability Chanel was able to get a job as a seamstress. On the side she also used to sing and made her debut singing at a café-concert. This was the time in her life that she gained the named 'Coco'.
In Moulins Coco met a young French ex-cavalry officer and wealthy textile heir named Etienne Balsan. Aged 23 Coco became his mistress and lived with him for 3 years. Chanel gained a lifestyle of wealth and luxury and wore many diamonds, dresses and pearls.
In 1908 Coco had an affair with on of her partners friends named Captain Arthur Edward Capel a wealthy Englishman. He was the person who helped finance her first shops. It is also said that the Chanel look was inspired by the tailored style worn by Capel. The design of the Chanel No. 5 perfume was also inspired by either the toiletry bottles he carried in his travel case or the whiskey decanter he used. The couples affair lasted for nine years but ended because Capel never wanted to settle down with Chanel.
In 1910 Chanel became a licensed milliner (someone that designs and makes hats and opened a boutique at 21 Rue Cambon in Paris named Chanel Modes. In 1912 a theatre actress named Gabrielle Dorziat wore her hats in a play which helped get her known.
In 1913 Chanel opened up a boutique in Deauville which was financed by Arthur Capel and it was then that she started to introduce sport and leisure clothing. The clothes were made from fabrics such as jersey and tricot which were used mainly in men's underwear. She also sold hats, jackets, sweaters and the marinière (the sailor blouse). Coco recruited two of her family members, her sister Antoinette and her Aunt Adrienne, as models for her designs. Every day the women would walk through the streets wearing the designs to help advertise them.
In 1916 Chanel opened an establishment in Biarritz. While in Biarritz she met the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and they became a romantic item which lasted many years. In 1919 Arthur Caple died in a car accident and Chanel was registered as a couturière and established her maison de couture at 31 rue Cambon, Paris.
In spring 1920 Chanel was introduced to the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky by Sergei Diaghilev the impresario of the Ballet Russes. By the summer she discovered that the Stravinsky family needed a place to live after leaving the Soviet Union after the war. She invited them to live with her in Paris. Chanel then started to design dance costumes for the Ballet Russes which she collaborated on from 1923-1937.
Designing for films:
In 1908 Coco had an affair with on of her partners friends named Captain Arthur Edward Capel a wealthy Englishman. He was the person who helped finance her first shops. It is also said that the Chanel look was inspired by the tailored style worn by Capel. The design of the Chanel No. 5 perfume was also inspired by either the toiletry bottles he carried in his travel case or the whiskey decanter he used. The couples affair lasted for nine years but ended because Capel never wanted to settle down with Chanel.
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| Capel and Chanel |
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| Chanel hat worn by Gabrielle Dorziat |
In 1913 Chanel opened up a boutique in Deauville which was financed by Arthur Capel and it was then that she started to introduce sport and leisure clothing. The clothes were made from fabrics such as jersey and tricot which were used mainly in men's underwear. She also sold hats, jackets, sweaters and the marinière (the sailor blouse). Coco recruited two of her family members, her sister Antoinette and her Aunt Adrienne, as models for her designs. Every day the women would walk through the streets wearing the designs to help advertise them.
In 1916 Chanel opened an establishment in Biarritz. While in Biarritz she met the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and they became a romantic item which lasted many years. In 1919 Arthur Caple died in a car accident and Chanel was registered as a couturière and established her maison de couture at 31 rue Cambon, Paris.
In spring 1920 Chanel was introduced to the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky by Sergei Diaghilev the impresario of the Ballet Russes. By the summer she discovered that the Stravinsky family needed a place to live after leaving the Soviet Union after the war. She invited them to live with her in Paris. Chanel then started to design dance costumes for the Ballet Russes which she collaborated on from 1923-1937.
Creation of Chanel No. 5:
In 1922 Théophile Bader introduced Chanel to a businessman named Pierre Wertheimer. Bader was also interested in selling the Chanel No. 5 fragrance in his department store. In 1924 Chanel agreed with the Wertheimer brothers, Paul and Pierre (directors of the eminent perfume and cosmetic house Bourjois since 1917) that she wanted to sell the perfume. They started selling the perfume by the name 'Parfums Chanel' and everything was provided by the brothers including: finance, production, marketing and distribution. However, the Wertheimers brother received 70% of profits and Bader received 20%. Chanel only received 10% of the stock for her own boutique. Unhappy with the agreement Chanel worked for 20 years to gain full control of 'Parfums Chanel'.
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| Chanel No. 5 |
Designing for films:
In 1921 Chanel visited Monte Carlo and was introduced to Samuel Goldwyn (a Jewish film producer). He then offered her the chance to go to Hollywood and design costumes for MGM stars if she paid him $1 million (aprox $75 million nowadays). In 1932 while travelling to California from New York she was interviewed by 'Colliers' magazine. Coco Chanel designed clothes worn by Gloria Swanson in 'Tonight or Never (1931)' and by Ina Claire in 'The Greeks had a word for them (1931)'. While working for the film company Chanel started to dislike the business and found her style of designs didn't fit in well. Instead she went on to design costumes for several French films such as Jean Ronirs film 'La Règle du jeu (1939)'. This is when she created la Maison Chanel
Failing:
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| Chanel fashion house |
World War II:
In 1939 WWII came around and Chanel was forced to close her shops. She claimed it was not the time for fashion which meant 4,000 employees lost there job as a result. During this time she met a German man named Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage
Gaining full control of her perfume:
During WWII Chanel worked with a Jewish-owned business enterprise to get full profit of 'Parfumes Chanel'. She used a petition to German officials to legalise her claim to being the rightful owner of the products. On 5th May 1941 she wrote to the government administrator claiming that 'Parfumes Chanel' was still in the property of Jews but has been abandoned by the owners. What she didn't know was that in May 1940 the Wertheimers had handed over the ownership to Félix Amiot, a Christian French businessman and industrialist. Who in turn returned it back to the Wertheimers at the end of the war (1945). Chanel ended up hiring René de Chambrun as her lawyer to sue Wertheimer. However, the Wertheimers and Chanel ended up settling with the original contract from 1924. On 17th May 1947 Coco Chanel received wartime profits from the sale of Chanel No.5 which came to a sum equivalent to $9 million nowadays. It was then agreed that she could received 2% of all Chanel No.5 sales worldwide. This meant she was earning an equivalent to $25 million a year! This made her one of the richest women in the world at that time. Pierre Wertheimer also agreed to pay for all of Chanel's living costs for the rest of her life.
Life after the war:
In 1945 after the war had ended Chanel moved to Switzerland where she lived with Dincklage for several years. In 1953 she sold her villa 'La Pausa' on the French Riviera to a publisher and translator Emery Reves. Five of the rooms from the villa have been replicated at the 'Dallas Museum of Art' and contains furniture belonging to Chanel herself.
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| La Pausa villa |
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| La Pausa villa |
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| La Pausa villa |
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| La Pausa villa |
At just over 70 years old Coco Chanel believed it was time to re-enter the fashion world after closing her couture house 15 years earlier. It finally opened up again in 1954 and was financed by Pierre Wertheimer. However, her new collection was called 'venomous' by the French press as they said the clothes were too conservative and brought nothing new. Bettina Ballard, the influential editor of American Vogue wanted to help out Chanel and featured the model Marie-Hélène Arnaud, as the face of Chanel in the 1950s, in the March 1954 issue. The model wore three different outfits: a red V-neck dress paired with pearls, a tiered evening gown and one of Chanel's timeless navy jersey mid-calf suits. After this feature was issues many orders of the clothing worn were made.
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| Marie-Hélène Arnaud wearing Chanel in Vogue |
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| Marie-Hélène Arnaud wearing Chanel in Vogue |
Last Days:
At the beginning of 1971 Chanel was preparing for her Spring catalogue. On Saturday 9th January she went on a long drive and started to feel ill so headed home and went to bed early. Sadly on Sunday 10th January 1971 at the age of 87 Coco Chanel passed away at the Hotel Ritz where she had been a resident for over 30 years. Her funeral was held at Église de la Madeleine. Her grave is located in the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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| Hotel Ritz |
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Église de la Madeleine
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| Coco Chanel's grave |
History of Chanel designs:
Chanel is well-known for her use of jersey materials (a machine knitted fabric). The fabric was traditionally used in underwear but Chanel used it throughout her designs helping her stand out. One of the classic Chanel looks is her wool jersey suit consisting of a cardigan jacket and pleated skirt paired with a low-belted pullover top. Also worn with a pair of low-heeled shoes this look become a popular casual expensive look worn by women. The success of using jersey material came from the shortage of other material during the war but also the desire by woman to wear more simple and practical clothing. It also gave women more movement which was need at the time.
The Tweed Suit:
The classic Chanel tweed suit was made for comfort and practicality. It consisted of a jacket made from light wool or mohair tweed with a jersey or silk lining, a skirt made from the same material and a silk blouse. Coco Chanel never used stiff material or shoulder pads even though they were popular around that time. She wanted women to be able to do daily activities in these suits so each client had repeated adjustment fittings until the suit was comfortable enough for them to wear daily.
The Little Black Dress:
After the classic Chanel suit the 'little black dress' became a thing. In 1912 the actress Suzzane Orlandi was the first woman to wear a Chanel little black dress. It was made from a black velvet material and had a white collar. In 1926 American Vogue published an image of a Chanel little black dress with long sleeves which was given a 'little boy look'.
Jewellery:
Chanel's jewellery lines were made from both hand-made and fine gems stones. Her inspirations came globally and were often inspired by design traditions of Orient and Egypt. In 1933 a designer named Paul Iribe collaborated with Chanel to create extravagant jewellery pieces shown in the International Guild of Diamond Merchants. They were made from diamonds and platinum and were made exclusively for public viewing and generated a very large audience. Chanel also turned costume jewellery into wearable everyday pieces. She was inspired by opulent jewels and pearls and partnered with Duke Fulco di Verdura to launch a House of Chanel jewellery line. Chanel's personal favourite was a white enamelled cuff featuring a jewelled Maltese cross. Her jewellery was loved by the wealthy and made it a great success.
The Chanel Bag:
In 1929 Chanel created a handbag design inspired by soldiers bags. It had a thin strap to allow the owner to be hands free. In February 1955 she updated the bag creating the '2.55' bag we see today. The bag has stayed the same throughout history except a few changes made by Karl Lagerfel in 1980. The changes made were an update to the clasp and lock to incorporated the Chanel logo and added leather throughout the shoulder chain. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Chanel bag in 2005 an exact replica copy of the original bag was released. The original bag design was inspired by her love for sports. The chain used was inspired by 'chatelained' worn by the caretakers at the orphanage she grew up in and the burgundy lining was inspired by the uniforms worn. The quilted effect was influenced by the jackets worn by jockeys while used to enhance the shape and volume of the bag.
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| Original Chanel bag design |
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| Chanel 2.55 bag |
So I think that's all you need to know about one of the greatest fashion designers of all time. I hope you enjoyed learning about the history behind the Chanel brand. I certainly learned a lot about Coco Chanel and how she turned her life around. She went from being an orphanage to a millionaire! If she can do it anyone can you just have to have faith. See you soon...
Emma Victoria
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