Chanel

Gabrielle "Coco" Bonheur Chanel (August 19, 1883 – January 10, 1971) as a French fashion designer and founder of the Chanel brand. She was the only fashion designer to appear on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Along with Paul Poiret, Chanel was credited with liberating women from the constraints of the "corseted silhouette" and popularizing the acceptance of a sportive, casual chic as the feminine standard in the post-World War I era. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel's influence extended beyond couture clothing. Her design aesthetic was realized in jewelry, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5 has become an iconic product.

 

Historically, the House of Chanel is most famous for the stylistically versatile “little black dress”, the perfume No. 5 de Chanel and the Chanel Suit. Its brands have been personified by fashion models and actresses, including Inès de la Fressange, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Vanessa Paradis, Nicole Kidman, Anna Mouglalis, Lucía Hiriart, Audrey Tautou, Keira Knightley and Marilyn Monroe, who epitomize the independent, self-confident Chanel Girl. At the height of her stardom in 1952, Marilyn Monroe once said she wore just a few drops of Chanel No. 5 to bed.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 1920s, the simple-line designs of Chanel couture made popular the “flat-chested” fashions that were the opposite of the hourglass-figure achieved by the fashions of the late 19th century — the Belle Époque of France (ca. 1890–1914), and the British Edwardian Era (ca. 1901–1919). Beyond comfort, Chanel's clothes applied the suppleness of to allow the woman an active style of life. Colour-wise, Chanel used traditionally masculine colours, such as grey and navy blue, to connote feminine boldness of character. The clothes of the House of Chanel featured quilted fabric and leather trimmings; the quilted construction reinforces the fabric, the design and the finish, producing a garment that maintains its form and function while being worn. The notable example of such haute couture techniques is the woolen Chanel Suit — a knee-length skirt and a cardigan-style jacket, trimmed and decorated with black embroidery and gold-coloured buttons. The complementary accessories were two-tone pump shoes and jewellry (gemstone and bijouterie), usually a necklace of pearls, and a leather handbag.

 

 

 

 

The great financial, commercial, and cultural successes of perfume No. 5 increased public recognition of the House of Chanel, desire for its haute couture designs, demand for its prêt-à-porter clothes, and enhanced the artistic reputation of the couturière Coco Chanel; and, in lean times, perfume kept Chanel solvent. In September 2012 a Paris court overturned a 2009 ruling and fined Chanel, saying the house had designed a vest that was a "slavish copy" of a crochet design by the local knitwear company, World Tricot.