Chanel : A Fashion House Essay

“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will.” This is a quote from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. The character Jane reminds me of a famous immigrant in American history who led women to break out of traditional roles. Her name was Liz Claiborne, an innovative designer who was the first to realize that every working woman wasn’t ending up in the boardroom or aspiring to [corporate life] (Bernstein 1). It is unquestionably hard for immigrants to prove themselves in a foreign country, but Liz Claiborne did it. Liz Claiborne was a Belgian who immigrated to America and changed fashion and business industries in U.S. due to her innovations.

Exercise 1: What is expected outcome of each of the targeting scenarios? (complete both the Ad Revenue and Financial calculators to fully understand the financial impact of the scenarios)

Consumers, who cannot afford a Chanel bag, can purchase Chanel perfume to satisfy their vanity. Moreover, Jo Malone is a brand with particular features, in other words, there might be some copy-cats appear to confuse consumers and damage Jo Malone’s brand image.

Chanel is one of the most prominent fashion brands, their cosmetic line is one that follows the brands positioning in the market, due to this it associated with being high end and luxury. This positioning has been influenced by the associations that consumers make between the brand and the founder Coco Chanel as well as drawing associations from haute-couture fashion as well as aligning the brand with the likes of the fashion scene (Chanel 2013). This brand has been positioned to exude luxury, perfection and quality and with associated high prices and simplistic but sophisticated packaging this has enabled the brand to be positioned as a high-end luxury brand (Chanel 2013).

C. A lot of women know Chanel and they are fascinated of Chanel products, but how many people know about Coco Chanel, the first designer of Chanel?

People often ask me, "When did you first become interested in Coco Chanel?" and if I'm honest, I was fascinated long before I started researching her biography more than a decade ago, all the way back to my earliest memories in childhood. For there on top of my mother's dressing table stood a bottle of Chanel No. 5, beyond my reach but not out of sight, and I knew from the moment I began to discern its mysterious letters and number that there was something magical to the black-and-white cipher. I'm not alone in that discovery -- Chanel has come to represent the essence of everywoman, whether in the scent of her perfume or her choice of bold red lipstick or the perfect little black dress -- but the story of Coco feels somehow entwined with

Chanel revolutionized the perfume and jewelry industry. Chanel created Chanel Number Five in 1924. By 1925 Chanel perfume was also being distributed on a worldwide scale. Chanel’s perfumes bring a significant percent of a profit for the company, more than its sales in other in other areas combined. Today Chanel Number Five sells a bottle every day thirty seconds. Costume jewelry was another item that became popular due to Chanel’s influence in the early 1920’s. She was the first designer to gain the social acceptability of wearing fake jewels. She said, “Costume jewelry is not made to give women an aura of wealth but to make them beautiful” (Picardie 76). Her jewelry and perfume lines are still best sellers in the jewelry and perfume market.

Born into dire poverty and aged 11 when her mother passed on, Coco Chanel has come to be recognized by some as the epitome of success in the fashion industry. Indeed, she has such a huge following of admirers that in some instances, fans have made pilgrimages to one of her preserved apartments in Paris. As Tracy, a professed "timeless fan" of Chanel notes, "Chanel's fashion spirit will forever remain immortal." Further, her timeless designs also continue to be hugely popular today.

Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonhuer Chanel, on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France was an amazing woman who redefined fashion as we know it today. She was a clothing designer who revolutionized the fashion industry with her suits, little black dresses, and avant garde flare. Because of this quickly in her young life she became well know, and rose to be the fashion icon that she is today. From the timeless designs that are still popular to this day, and the sophisticated outfits that can be paired with great accessories Chanel has done it all. When it comes down to it though it was Coco Chanel’s philosophy that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury” that lead to her success. (“Coco Chanel”)

For my own artist paper, I chose to study the French fashion house, Christian Dior SE. During the past seven decades, Christian Dior has transformed its brand from just another high end fashion house into a name synonymous with wealth, sophistication, power, dignity, and prestige. Christian Dior stands in a league of its own in our culture. It’s a mega brand with major influence over fashion and business. Instead of spending hours hunting down financial records and hiring practices for a smaller house, Christian Dior appealed to me because of their long history, easily accessible records, and publicly traded status meaning they would have long reports outlining all the companies numbers for a given year. Christian Dior is also the majority owner of the luxury holdings company LVMH, with a 40.9% controlling share and 100% ownership of Christian Dior Couture (CITATION).

1. Go to a public place and OBSERVE the community of people in that place for at least 30 minutes; perhaps as long as 60 minutes. In your report, describe the setting and note the date and time of your observation. Describe the element of “community” that you observed.

Basics: not intersted in fashion with being 20% of all viewers and 45% being female.

Famous fashion Designer Gabrielle Coco Chanel (1883-1971) stated that luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends. Similar ideas were acknowledged by the famous economist Veblen (1899), in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class, who explains the concept of conspicuous consumption as the waste of money and/or resources by people to display a higher status than others. Luxury is concept related to status, ego and psychogenic needs; it is not necessary for survival. Luxury goods have always been associated with high quality, craftsmanship, uniqueness, creativity, exclusivity and innovation. Apart from these product attributes, the consumers also get the additional psychological benefits like esteem, prestige and a sense of a high status that reminds them and others that they belong to an exclusive group who can afford these expensive goods.

“If Chanel was not posting incredible results, no one would know. But if they were public and this was known, some customers would say that the brand was not cool anymore — this is a risk.”

What is Fashion? Fashion is a general term used to describe a style of clothing or practice used by people around the world. Fashion refers to anything that is a trend. Self-presentation is the most direct noticeable marker of fashion. Throughout history we have seen many changes in clothing, from the color, to the material used to make it. We have also seen the style in which clothing is made change drastically. Fashion communicates meanings that have individual and social significance. Society, cultures, gender and even political authority have impacted fashion over the years. Clothing styles characterize certain designs which represent the culture that wears the clothing. Designers continue to try to direct their ideas to a transforming