CHANEL Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was born in Saumur, France in 1884. Vogue Magazine referred to her as “the couturier who takes no account of fashion, who pursues her own faultlessly elegant line in the quiet confidence that fashion will come back to her - and sure enough it always does.”
Chanel began designing heavily during the 1920s. Her first outfits were wool jerseys, and were very simple. She became famous for the simple look of her extremely classy outfits. Chanel stayed away from the vivid colors of many of the other designers of the time. Instead, she used blacks, navy, and tan almost exclusively. Unlike many designers who primarily made dresses and suits, Chanel also
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Chanel had a disappointing love life and brittle personality. She criticized other designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga.
The first Chanel shop was opened in Paris in 1914. When World War Two broke out, the salon on rue Cambon closed and Chanel went into exile. “I have always been copied by others. If a fashion isn’t take up and worn by everybody, it’s not fashion but an eccentricity, a fancy dress.”
After Chanel’s death in her apartment at the Ritz hotel in Paris in 1971, first her assistant designers, Gaston Berthelot and Ramon Esparza, and then her assistant Yvonne Dudel and Jean Cazaubon designed the couture from 1975 until 1984. Philippe Guibourge became the ready-to-wear designer. Karl Lagerfeld took over haute couture design in 1983 and ready-to-wear in 1984.
Karl Lagerfeld was born in Germany in 1938. He was the designer who was able to turn around the Chanel label and bring it back to what Coco had made it out to be. No other designer could have handle it better. When he arrived at Chanel he reinvented the Chanel suit with endless changes and even doing things such as putting the double ‘C’ insignia on motorcycle boots and helmets. He cleverly added a sporty feel to the line with the Chanel signature and
Christian Dior was born on the 21 of January 1905. He grew up in Granville France to a affluent family, that worked in manufacturing. ‘Dior’s first interest in clothes developed in his teens when he dressed up as king Neptune for a fancy dress party.’ He went to school to study political science at Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris in 1920. This was because of his parent 's insistence. Dior then got the call for military service and served in the French Army from 1927-1928. In 1938 Robert Piguet hired him as a design assistant. Then after the war ended he began working for Lucien Lelong. Before pursing his own ambition and opening his own fashion house. Dior rose to fame quickly after he showcased his first collection ‘La Ligne Corolle’. Carmel Snow the editor and -chief of Harper’s Bazaar at the time gave the collection a name that
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
The Great Depression and World War II affected Chanel’s success as most consumers could no longer afford her clothing. However, Chanel still was selling her fashions to buyers from India, Asia, South America and the Middle East as they eagerly sought her designs during the almost worldwide Depression (Inoue). Due to World War II Chanel closed all her boutiques and moved to Switzerland. Nevertheless Chanel continued to plan her return to fashion.
Though in her later life she came to be regarded one of the world's most influential designers of all time, Chanel's earlier life was far from glamorous. Coco Chanel was born sometimes in the year 1883 though she later disputed the same as her birth date (replacing it with 1893). Chanel's mother passed on when she was aged 6 years old leaving the young Chanel and four of her siblings under the care of her father. Soon after, her father put her in an orphanage run by Catholic nuns. It is here that the young Channel learnt the art of sewing something that would prove to be much helpful in her later undertakings. When she attained the age of eighteen, Chanel left the orphanage and later on, she secured a job as a seamstress. However, Chanel would occasionally put her other talent, singing, into use by performing at a cabaret. Soon, Chanel moved to Deauville where she become romantically involved with Etienne Balsan and later on became his mistress at the age of 23. It
The 1950s clothing contributed so much to modern-day fashion. The prettier the clothes are, the more beautiful the person is. The main theme for beauty in the 1950s was femininity and refinement. During the 1950s, the runway became an important way of showing fashion. The younger buyers bought the "beat look" with flat pedal pusher shoes and the pumpkin skirt. This shows that younger people in the 1950s bought these types of clothes. Chanel made a come back in the 1950s with her cardigan jacket suits. Chanel is still worn today in the world. Chanel makes the gilt chain quilted leather handbag in 1957. Also, she made the
The French leader of the fashion frontier, Gabrielle “Coco" Chanel built an empire of fashion for women all around world, changed how society viewed women. With her boyish style, Chanel inspired women
CoCo Chanel had many achievements in the fashion world. This was brought forth by her creative leadership. CoCo was an orphan and originally learned how to sew there. She created a product that was attractive and desired. CoCo managed to be a wealthy businesswoman in a time where there were few opportunities for her to succeed. CoCo Chanel had enough confidence in herself to rely on her own judgement. This can be to blame for her success. CoCo was a leader instead of a follower. She did this by leading women away from impractical clothing (corsets), and instead introduces clothing that emphasized comfort, functionality and high style. CoCo used these skills and others to break through the male barrier in women's fashion. She is also responsible
She was the only fashion designer to ever be on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In the 1920s Gabrielle launched her first perfume ever called Chanel No. 5 which became a huge success, and still is. Also in the 1920s, Gabrielle started a new piece of clothing, which will change women’s outfits completely. It was the little black dress. Before she introduced this to everyone, black dresses were associated with funerals and deaths, not eveningwear. This was soon the end of corsets and thick clothing women had to wear out. Then in 1925 she created a more legendary piece the Chanel suit with a well-fitted skirt and jacket. It was called the “little boy look.” During the 50s, her spring collection received the Fashion Oscar at the 1957 Fashion Awards in Dallas. She was announced the most influential designer of the 20th
Fast forward to Chanel’s young adult life, and you can see it wasn’t long off that she would set up shop in Paris, France in 1910, eventually expanding out to Deauville, and then Biarritz. She had started off with designing, and marketing hats which became a very successful hit amongst the fashionistas of that day. Chanel’s empire was growing exponentially, and in 1920 she expanded into the realms of couture now working in jersey which at the time was unheard of in the French fashion circle. Soon she was blurring the lines of what was acceptable, setting fashion trends instead of adhering to the routine, and was giving way to entire style genres such as the “chemise” and the “little boy” look. Her fashion statements were a gigantic contrast to what was socially acceptable, and of course Chanel fell under scrutiny over it, but she went on to create more casual, shorter, and idyllically “liberating” clothing for the day’s modern woman. In essence she was liberating women from the stuffy, confining fashions that they were used to, and giving way to a loose more relaxed style all together while maintaining it’s inherent feminine charm. Chanel was creating more than just a design, or an article of clothing, she was creating a movement that would change the way society viewed fashion in it’s entirety. (Lewis)
It wasn’t until Chanel started to create jackets which not only had the purpose of being worn closed, she created jackets that looked good opened, closed or hanging over the shoulders. She emphasized on this style by making blouses to serve the complete outfit. She was also the creator of the “Little Black Dress”, which was a relatively simple black dress made by elegant materials such as lace, tulle, weightless silk and even embroidery in a new, more tailored way. Chanel is today world known for its high quality designs and has women of the 21th century dependent on its classical style (Rennolds Milbank 120-121).
Coco Chanel, born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France, influenced 1920s fashion greatly through her trademark pieces such as “little black dress” and jersey suits and many more. These key fashion pieces are still very popular in our current day time in women’s fashion. Before Chanel became well known, most women would wear corsets that would leave them feeling stiff to give them more of a hour glass look as well as skirts with long hems that would reach the floor. Chanel went past the social boundaries of most women, and created different and diverse pieces. She disregarded societies idea of
August 19, 1883, Saumur, France (“Coco Chanel”): this is the date of when Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born. While Chanel’s aesthetic in her later years was glamour, glitz, and glam, her early years were not the same. Chanel's mother died when she was twelve, and due to her peddling father, she and her two other sisters went into foster care (Collage). There she was raised by nuns who taught her how to sew (“Coco Chanel”), a skill that will benefit her later in life. Before Chanel entered the fashion world, she was briefly a nightclub singer. This is where she coined the nickname “Coco” and met a very important man to her career (“Coco Chanel”). This man was the wealthy business man Arthur “boy” Cape, and
Between 1789 and 1799 France was going through great turmoil. Immense political and social upheavals were commonplace in the changing nation. New ideas were growing, ideas of freedom, government and of self-expression. Such new attitudes by the people gave rise to a new style of clothing. The clothing became more expressive and more ornate. People began to dress the way they wanted. French soon became the center stage for fashion. The French revolution, while failing in many aspects did one thing no one expected. The French revolution created a new image of fashion in France. There are several reasons that contributed to this occurrence. New beliefs of freedom, equality and self-expression each contributed