Coco Chanel: From Orphanage to Fashion Icon

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) revolutionized women's fashion by emphasizing simplicity, comfort, and sophistication. Her innovative designs, including the little black dress, classic suits, and bold accessories, have had a lasting influence on style. Chanel's journey, from a childhood marked by poverty and abandonment to becoming a celebrated fashion icon, is a testament to her creativity, passion, and determination.

Early Life and Education

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France. Her early life was far from glamorous. Her parents were unmarried and struggled financially. When Gabrielle was 12, her mother, Jeanne Devolle Chanel, died at the age of 32. Shortly after the death of her mother, Gabrielle and her sisters were sent to an orphanage at the abbey of Aubazine. This event marked a turning point in her life.

At the orphanage, Chanel received a rudimentary education from the nuns, but more importantly, she learned how to sew. These skills would prove invaluable in her future career. After the orphanage, Chanel entered the Notre Dame Pensionnat, an institution for poor girls in Moulins. She was accepted as a charity case, doing housework to pay for her schooling and housing. She also found employment as a seamstress in Moulins in a lingerie and hosiery shop.

From Cabaret Singer to Milliner

Chanel's early career path took an unexpected turn when she began singing in cabarets in Vichy and Moulins. It was during this time that she acquired the nickname "Coco." Some say the name came from one of the songs she used to sing. Chanel herself said it was a shortened version of "cocotte," the French word for "kept woman."

Around the age of 20, Chanel became involved with Étienne Balsan, a wealthy member of the French upper class. She became his mistress and lived with him in his château Royallieu near Compiègne. This sophisticated environment exposed her to a lifestyle of luxury and inspired her to create clothes to match this lifestyle.

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While living with Balsan, Chanel began designing hats as a diversion. This hobby evolved into a commercial enterprise. In 1910, she became a licensed milliner and opened a boutique at 21 rue Cambon, Paris, named Chanel Modes. Because this location already housed an established clothing business, Chanel sold only her millinery creations at this address.

Rise of a Fashion Empire

Chanel's millinery career took off when theatre actress Gabrielle Dorziat wore her hats in Fernand Nozière's play Bel Ami in 1912. In 1913, with financial backing from Arthur "Boy" Capel, Chanel opened a boutique in Deauville. Here, she introduced deluxe casual clothing suitable for leisure and sport. She constructed the fashions from humble fabrics such as jersey and tricot, at the time primarily used for men's underwear.

Chanel’s designs emphasized comfort and practicality, liberating women from the constraints of traditional fashion. Her iconic creations, such as the little black dress, the Chanel suit, and the quilted bag, continue to be celebrated for their timeless elegance. Her perspective was always one of functionality and comfort. This defining philosophy established her as a relevant designer well into her 70s.

In 1915, Chanel opened an establishment in Biarritz, a playground for the moneyed set. After one year of operation, the business proved to be so lucrative that in 1916 Chanel was able to reimburse Capel's original investment. In 1918, Chanel purchased the building at 31 rue Cambon, in one of the most fashionable districts of Paris. In 1921, she opened an early incarnation of a fashion boutique, featuring clothing, hats, and accessories, later expanded to offer jewelry and fragrances.

Chanel No. 5 and Business Ventures

In the 1920s, Chanel took her thriving business to new heights. In 1921, she launched her first perfume, Chanel No. 5, which was the first to feature a designer's name. Chanel No. 5 became iconic. The fragrance later gained pop culture notoriety when Marilyn Monroe famously stated she wore nothing to bed but Chanel No. 5.

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In 1924, Chanel made an agreement with the Wertheimer brothers, Pierre and Paul, to create a corporate entity, Parfums Chanel. The Wertheimers agreed to provide full financing for the production, marketing, and distribution of Chanel No. 5. The Wertheimers would receive seventy per cent of the profits, and Théophile Bader twenty per cent. For ten per cent of the stock, Chanel licensed her name to Parfums Chanel and withdrew from involvement in business operations. Later, unhappy with the arrangement, Chanel worked for more than twenty years to gain full control of Parfums Chanel.

Iconic Designs and Influence

In 1925, Chanel introduced the now legendary Chanel suit with collarless jacket and well-fitted skirt. Her designs were revolutionary for the time. She borrowed elements of men’s wear and emphasized comfort over the constraints of then-popular fashions. She helped women say goodbye to the days of corsets and other confining garments.

Another revolutionary design was Chanel’s little black dress. She took a color once associated with mourning and showed just how chic it could be for evening wear. Coco creates the "Little Black Dress" that celebrates its greatest success with Audrey Hepburn in the rom-com "Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)".

Chanel became a popular figure in Parisian literary and artistic circles. She designed costumes for the Ballets Russes and Jean Cocteau’s play Orphée, and counted Cocteau and artist Pablo Picasso among her friends.

World War II and Exile

The international economic depression of the 1930s had a negative impact on Chanel's company. The outbreak of World War II led her to close her business. She fired her workers and shut down her shops.

After the war, Chanel left Paris, spending some years in Switzerland in a sort of exile. She also lived at her country house in Roquebrune for a time. During the German occupation, Chanel had an affair with Nazi functionary Günther von Dincklage and worked as an agent for the German Reich. After the war ended, Chanel was interrogated about her relationship with von Dincklage, but she was not charged as a collaborator.

Return to Fashion

At the age of 70, in the early 1950s, Chanel made a triumphant return to the fashion world. She first received scathing reviews from critics, but her feminine and easy-fitting designs soon won over shoppers around the world. She introduced a new collection that showcased her signature elegance and simplicity, including the legendary Chanel suit and the iconic Chanel jacket.

Personal Life and Relationships

Chanel had a series of high-profile liaisons throughout her life. Beginning in 1920, Chanel had a short-lived relationship with composer Igor Stravinsky. Around 1923, she met the wealthy Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, aboard his yacht. The two started a decades-long relationship. In response to his marriage proposal, which she turned down, she reportedly said, “There have been several Duchesses of Westminster-but there is only one Chanel!”

Death and Legacy

Chanel died on January 10, 1971, at her apartment in the Hotel Ritz in Paris. She never married, having once said “I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.” Hundreds crowded together at the Church of the Madeleine to bid farewell to the fashion icon. In tribute, many of the mourners wore Chanel suits.

A little more than a decade after her death, designer Karl Lagerfeld took the reins at her company to continue the Chanel legacy. Today her namesake company is held privately by the Wertheimer family and continues to thrive, believed to generate hundreds of millions in sales each year.

Coco Chanel's life story has been the subject of numerous books, movies, and plays. In 1969, Chanel’s fascinating life story became the basis for the Broadway musical Coco, starring Katharine Hepburn as the legendary designer. Several biographies of the fashion revolutionary have also been written, including Chanel and Her World (2005), written by Chanel's friend Edmonde Charles-Roux.

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