DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

Fashion Designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel became one of the first female icons in fashion history. Known for classics like the little black dress, the tweed suit, sling back pumps in ivory with black toes, and strings of gold chains and pearls, Chanel is thought to be the designer who invented 20 th century women’s fashions.

Everything about Gabrielle Chanel was unique, even the way she got her nickname ‘Coco.’ In 1905 she performed the song ‘Qui qu’ a vu Coco dans le Trocadero’ at a music hall called La Rotonde, where men in uniform thought she was unlike any other women they had ever saw before.

Chanel fell in love with fashion at a young age. The first sign that Chanel was an innovator was when friends began to adore the hats that she made for herself. It didn’t take long for Chanel to start making custom made hats for friends who admired the customized boaters that she wore to the races. After a short time this led to a small cliental throughout Paris. As business began to pick up she opened a millinary in Deauville. Her first fashion boutique was opened in 1913.

Throughout the years Gabrielle Chanel was able to overcome every obstacle that came her way. When times got tough the determined designer rolled up her sleeves and cut her hair into the short boob to match her relaxed style. Chanel was constantly creating chaos in the fashion world, but she didn’t care.

“In fashion, you know you have succeeded when there is an element of upset,” said Coco Chanel. “People laughed at the way I dressed, but that was the secret of my success: I didn’t look like anyone.”

During the First World War commonly used fabrics ran low, so Chanel began using jersey to create glamorous gowns for women. Before WWI, jersey was only used in men’s underwear. This just shows how audacious Chanel was at a time when sophisticated females weren’t even supposed to be thinking about men’s underwear!

There wasn’t a moment in Coco’s career where she thought it was okay to do things just to get them done. At the last moments before a fashion show started she would rip apart seams or reset shoulders to make sure that only her best work was revealed. Every hem had to be stitched precisely to her specifications. To this day, each and every Chanel garment is checked carefully the way that Coco herself would have done.

After Chanel’s death in 1971, the Chanel name seemed to be less glamorous until 1983, when Karl Laugerfeld took over and created ready-to-wear. Lagerfeld greatly admires the rebellious attitude that Coco Chanel had when she first started out. When creating each new collection he thinks of her.

The Chanel name now consists of both haute couture and ready-to-wear collections, eye wear, fragrances, beauty products, and fine jewelry.

Visit, www.chanel.com

Reported by Danielle Vega