Gabrielle Chanel: Get to Know the Iconic Designer's History & Legacy
Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Chanel, was the most revolutionary stylist of the 1900s. Read her raw story, from her tumultuous childhood to creating the little black dress.
On August 19, 1883, Jeanne DeVolle gave birth, in a hospice, to Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel whom, one day, the world would know by the eponymous name of Coco Chanel. Though current day we know Chanel as an iconic luxury name, the designer's origins stemmed from a melancholy and grief-stricken childhood. She experienced the premature death of her mother, the abandonment by her father Henri-Albert Chanel—a street vendor by profession—and years in the custody of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in Aubazine. There she was surrounded by women dressed only in austere clothes, strictly white and black, and the rigorous architecture of the abbey, yet ironically, it is precisely here that Gabrielle began to become Chanel: the antithesis of the opposing colors and the severity of the lines that eventually became the distinctive feature of her designs.
At the age of 18, Gabrielle Chanel found herself free to leave Aubazine and start living her life at the dawn of her youth. She began working as a sales assistant in the Maison Grampayre shop in Moulins, while simultaneously working as a singer in a cafe. One of her signature songs "Qui qu'a vu Coco?" is where she was rumored to have gotten her legendary nickname, Coco. Moving forward, the same cafés in Moulins led to her exposure and meeting prominent fashion executives such as Étienne de Balsan, a son of textile entrepreneurs, who invited her to move to a castle in Royallieu. After a six-year relationship, Étienne became not only a romantic partner but also her first financier.
While discovering Chanel's exceptional talent for creating hats, soon, the women in close proximity at Balsan's company started to also take notice and interest in her designs. Her creations quickly became highly sought-after, pushing her to move to Paris in 1908 and then to Deauville in 1914, to open her first shop. Shortly following the opening of her first store in 1916, was the opening of a high fashion showroom in Biarritz. Her quick rise to prominence was due to the contrasting nature of her designs to the popular fashion of that time, which was still closely tied to traditional and slowly outdated pieces: the corset, and crinoline. These pieces were now seen as cages in which women locked themselves in the cry of an aesthetic balance and viewed more and more as unhealthy. Thus, Chanel, against the current, began to offer sporty silhouettes, with simple and soft lines, in line with what would become the new trend of the beginning of the century.
In 1916, Rodier, a French textile industrialist, exclusively gave Chanel jersey, a fabric that proved to be the best interpreter of Chanel creations given the softness of the body and her innate ability to free the woman's physical form. The triptych skirt, pullover, and cardigan thus became the first distinctive model of Chanel fashion, made especially in neutrals such as gray, beige, and dark blue as well as the famous combination of black and white. But it was in 1920 that her signature dedication to this aesthetic took place.
In that year, Chanel opened her first boutique in Paris at 31 Rue de Cambon. This being the pivotal moment for her career success, saw added and consistent exponential growth due to her ambition which was defined by her relentless desire for more. From this same unceasing desire to create more was the birth of her first and most famous perfume, Chanel No.5, which can only be described as a timeless fragrance that, even today, is considered one of the best ever conceived. Subsequently, other fragrances were created, such as the No.22, the Gardenia—inspired by the designer's favorite flower—and the No.19.
Always careful, Gabrielle Chanel used her observations of the clothing of the Parisian employees and orders, characterized by black dresses with a white collar and cuffs to inspire her designs. In the mid-1920s, her analysis was transformed into the petit robe noir, or the little black dress, with the simplest possible lines capable in the hope of making each woman equal, albeit with immense style. True to her now-signature belief that "fashion passes, style remains," the vision gave way to the absolute success achieved by the Chanel suit, loved by women all over the world: in gabardine, tweed, and, of course, jersey.
After establishing a substantial and unwavering vision with her garments, the designer went on to focus efforts on accessories. Chanel enlisted the help of Count Etienne de Beaumont and Duke Fulco di Verdura to start an atelier dedicated to costume jewelry creations in which non-precious gems were combined with the purest ones. Extremely rich, almost opulent creations were necessary to the designer, who loved the essentiality of her dresses and sought to perfectly balance them with whimsical accessories. It is now to be attributed to this period, the '30s, the birth of the Chanel 2.55, now known as the most copied bag in the world since the day it was created. Though counterfeit products infuriate most creatives, Chanel didn't mind at all, explaining that "being plagiarized is the greatest compliment one can receive: it only happens to adults."
During the Second World War, the designer found herself forced to withdraw from the fashion scene briefly, only to return in 1954. Chanel now at the age of 71, was regarded by critics and peers as on the verge of imminent decline. Yet in what is now an unsurprising turn of events, Chanel debuted her knitted suit, turning instantly into another house staple. Early fans of the classic suit included First Lady Jackie Kennedy who was frequently seen in these designs. Most notably, on the day of the murder of her husband John F. Kennedy, she wore a Chanel suit in a bright pink point knit.
On January 10, 1971, Chanel died in her suite at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris at the age of 87. Her life lived to the fullest, has forever changed international fashion and the concept of dressing the female body. Immediately following her death, the Maison was carried out by Gaston Berthelot and Ramon Esparza, assistants of the late designer. Later moving under the creative guidance of the late Karl Lagerfeld in 1983, the extraordinary designer demonstrated how to make the stylistic codes of the fashion house contemporary without ever betraying Chanel's original vision.
Gabrielle Chanel's legacy continues to live on long after her death. It is not just that her distinctive designs continue to influence fashion trends, but also that her innovative spirit remains a guiding force within the brand today. Chanel's pioneering approach to fashion, characterized by simplicity, elegance, and functionality, continues to inspire designers and fashion enthusiasts alike. Her timeless creations, such as the little black dress, the quilted handbag and the classic Chanel suit, to name a few, remain staples in the brand's collections, serving as a testament to her enduring influence.
Just take a look at Chanel's Spring/Summer 2024 Haute Couture collection, for instance. To celebrate the 100-year mark since Gabrielle Chanel's first designs for ballet, current Chanel creative director Virginie Viard paid a tribute to dance-inspired fashion for this recent collection. Given that Gabrielle Chanel was known for pioneering ballet-inspired fashion, it was fitting that Viard chose to honor this aspect of her legacy. By blending elements of dancewear with Chanel's signature aesthetic, Viard's homage to Gabrielle Chanel's early influences demonstrates how the brand continues to draw inspiration from its founder's visionary approach to fashion, ensuring that her legacy remains vibrantly alive in each new collection.
