Coco Chanel: From an orphan to a powerful woman in the fashion world

Coco Chanel is one of the most prestigious brands in the fashion world. Referring to Chanel, people immediately think of the gorgeous, glamorous but still very delicate style.

Standing behind this legendary name is the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, Coco Chanel. She is considered a living symbol of French fashion of the 20th century. "I do not create fashion. I am fashion" is an immortal saying associated with Coco Chanel.

The South China Morning Post has compiled three famous books about this powerful woman: Gabrielle Chanel: A Fashion Manifesto, Chanel's Riviera and The Chanel Sisters. In which new perspectives revolving around this interesting woman were revealed.

After the death of her mother, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (Coco Chanel's real name) was sent to an orphanage by her father. Here, she was taught sewing, the first foundation to develop an illustrious career many years later. The narrow life on the camp campus makes young girl Gabrielle always curious, eager to learn everything around. The older she got, the more beautiful Gabrielle became. Her beautiful voice and beauty help her stand out from other children in the same camp. This advantage makes the young girl dream of becoming a singer.

At the age of 18, Gabrielle left the orphanage and began to realize her cherished dream. Her singing career began in the Vichy and Moulins pubs of France under the stage name Coco. However, the young girl's dream was soon shattered by the chaotic reality. She often witnessed the scene of drunkenness, laughter and teasing of the lustful crowd, social traps... Soon after, Gabrielle gave up singing.

Stopping a career once earnestly pursued, Gabrielle lived a goalless life until she met Etienne Balsan, a French seamstress. The fateful encounter steers Coco's fate in a different direction. She started the idea of a women's fashion business. Later, she had a romantic relationship with a rich man. Realizing Coco's natural talent, both her boyfriend and Etienne wholeheartedly supported and invested money in her design career.

Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto

It has been 50 years since Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel died, in 1971, at the age of 87, but her stories are still the subject of many fans. Gabrielle Chanel: A Fashion Manifesto is a picture book published to accompany the Coco Chanel exhibition to be held in 2020 at the fashion museum in Paris.

The book was personally edited by the director and curator of the Palais Galliera. It revealed: "For Coco Chanel, there is a very thin line between truth and lie." In addition, she added that the fashion business is her only real job. The powerful woman likes to choose models that are similar to hers and train them to move and pose like her style.

The book also talks about Madame Chanel's love of flowers and how she uses them to inspire creativity in her work. Surely we are no stranger to the immortal symbol of the Coco Chanel brand, the camellia. This is one of Chanel's favorite flowers. In the 1930s, she decorated her clothes, accessories, jewelry, and hair with flowers. In addition, she also uses the scent of camellia, jasmine and rose to make the body smell attractive.

In the book, there are also cult products that make up the Coco Chanel brand. All represent the life and undying love for fashion of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

Coco's design of short ankle skirts and pants for women contributed to changing the fashion concept of the 19th century. They gave women confidence, comfort and freedom. After that, a series of other popular products were born. In particular, the collarless jacket outfit and the beautifully decorated inner skirt made the Coco Chanel brand, thanks to the combination of comfort elements in men's clothes and traditional features in women's dresses. Her new design freed women from tight-fitting bras.

Coco's personality is also reflected in the color of the outfit. Accordingly, she chose black, which was very popular at funerals, into her casual wear collection - Little Black Dress. The talented designer has proven that painful colors can be elegant and enhance a woman's beauty. Besides, she also created costumes for many famous art performances. Her working contacts led her to develop feelings for the Russian composer and pianist, Igor Stravinsky.

Not only a popular designer, Coco is famous for her first perfume line - Chanel No. 5 named after himself. She acknowledged: "Women without perfume have no future", so perfume for Coco is a beauty symbol, an unforgettable impression.

The fragrance business is favorable when many entrepreneurs support the development of a new perfume line, including the Wertheimer family, a big name in the French cosmetics industry. The Wertheimer family company imported Chanel No. 5 equals 70% of Coco's profits for many years. The first perfume invention brought the designer a huge amount of money but also encountered many troublesome economic lawsuits.

On the rise, Coco's company is in trouble because of the general situation of the world. The global economic crisis followed by the outbreak of World War II caused her to close the company, lay off workers and shut down the Chanel chain of stores.

Chanel's Riviera

Much of Chanel's life is documented in the book Chanel's Riviera. However, according to author Anne de Courcy, the book is not a biography of the French fashion icon, nor is it about the history of the glamorous Riviera.

The Riviera is a Mediterranean coastal region between Cannes (France) and La Spezia (Italy). Among them, the French part includes part of Côte dAzur. This is also where Chanel built the summer palace named La Pausa, which is said to be her "real home". This villa has an area of 929m2 with a beautiful view overlooking the Mediterranean.

During the war, Coco met and fell in love with a German army officer. This relationship made her suffer from many scandals from society, some even considered Coco a traitor to the country. Public pressure led the French designer to leave Paris and exile to Switzerland.

The news of Coco did not appear until 1953. She once again returned to her dream of becoming a fashion designer at the age of 70. The Chanel clothing model released during this time was harshly commented by experts, yet won the hearts of women around the world thanks to its feminine, elegant and highly functional design. The career of one of the oldest designers in the fashion world flourished in the following years. Chanel brand gradually gained a foothold in the luxury fashion market.

The Chanel Sisters - The Chanel Sisters

We'll never know what really inspired the interlocking C in Chanel's famous logo.

One theory is that Coco Chanel designed the icon as an homage to the convent in France, where she spent most of her childhood. It was inspired by the stained glass windows in the monastery chapel.

Another theory is that the letter C simply stands for Chanel. Or maybe it has to do with Boy Capel, the English polo player, someone who made her miserable by marrying another girl. Boy Capel later died in a car accident.

On January 10, 1971, Coco Chanel died at her home, at the age of 88. During the funeral, hundreds of people in costumes designed by her gathered and mourned for the woman "with a silver face".

Coco was never married. Her life with many ups and downs was the inspiration for the musical Coco on the American Broadway stage. The work received seven Tony Award nominations and two awards for Best Costume Design and Best Actor.

Decades have passed, generations of CEOs have led Chanel to become one of the luxury brands, the symbol of luxury and class of the world. Chanel is currently owned by the Wertheimer family and operated by CEO Alain Wertheimer.

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