Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Coco Chanel" - New World
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Some of the facts of Chanel's childhood are obscured and Chanel herself often embellished upon the details most likely to distance herself from the pain of abandonment.<ref>*"Coco Chanel," ''American Decades,'' Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref> | Some of the facts of Chanel's childhood are obscured and Chanel herself often embellished upon the details most likely to distance herself from the pain of abandonment.<ref>*"Coco Chanel," ''American Decades,'' Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center.'' Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.</ref> | ||
| − | At the age of twenty she was befriended by wealthy and well connected textile heir, Étienne Balsan, who introduced her into an upper class social circle for which she began designing hats to be worn to horse races. Newspapers quickly took note of her work. Balsan introduced Chanel to the "love of her life," English industrialist and sportsman, Arthur "Boy" Capel. With his financial backing she opened her first shop in 1910 at 21 rue Cambon in [[Paris]]. A boutique in [[Deauville]] soon followed and in 1918 she moved her firm to 31 rue Cambon where her business and residence remained for the rest of her life. Chapel's death in a car accident in 1919 was devasting for Chanel who became even more committed to her work and, although she had several highly publicized affairs, she never married. | + | At the age of twenty she was befriended by wealthy and well connected textile heir, Étienne Balsan, who introduced her into an upper class social circle for which she began designing elegant hats to be worn to horse races. Newspapers quickly took note of her work. Balsan introduced Chanel to the "love of her life," English industrialist and sportsman, Arthur "Boy" Capel. With his financial backing she opened her first shop in 1910 at 21 rue Cambon in [[Paris]]. A boutique in [[Deauville]] soon followed and in 1918 she moved her firm to 31 rue Cambon where her business and residence remained for the rest of her life. Chapel's death in a car accident in 1919 was devasting for Chanel who became even more committed to her work and, although she had several highly publicized affairs, she never married. |
By the time of Chapel's death the [[House of Chanel]] was reaching its height of success selling dresses for over 7,000 francs each ($2000 by today's accounting). <ref>"Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.</ref> | By the time of Chapel's death the [[House of Chanel]] was reaching its height of success selling dresses for over 7,000 francs each ($2000 by today's accounting). <ref>"Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.</ref> | ||
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| + | ===Chanel No. 5 Perfume=== | ||
| + | In 1923, Chanel began selling her trademark perfume, [[Chanel No. 5]]. She wished to create a perfume that was less florid than the popular perfumes of the time. She had perfume expert Ernest Beaux add real jasmine to the sample, and because she chose the fifth forumla he created for her, the perfume was named accordingly. Chanel chose to market the new perfume in a simple, square, unadorned bottle that complemented her own functional style and that was a departure from the fancy perfume bottles of the era. Chanel called the perfume "a woman's scent" and it subsequently went on to become one of the most expensive in the world and the standard bearer for all others. Unfortunately, Chanel was convinced that her business partner, with whom she marketed the product and who held 70% ownership of its revenues, cheated her out of the fortune that the perfume brought in.<ref>"Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.</ref> | ||
==The Chanel Look== | ==The Chanel Look== | ||
| − | + | In 1925 Chanel introduced what was to become known as the classic Chanel suit - a collarless cardigan jacket made of woven wool, with tight-fitting sleeves, braid trim and gold buttons, matched with a plain but graceful skirt. The outfit could be complemented with costume pearls, mixed with real gems, which Chanel loved to wear herself. She was known to sometimes create her costume jewelry pieces directly on a live model since she was not adept at drawing. The following year she created "the little black dress" that was to become a versatile stable of both day and evening wear depending on how it was accessorized. Black, usually associated with funerals, was a revolutionary color choice for that time. Although unassuming black dresses existed before Chanel, the ones she designed were considered the [[haute couture]] standard.<ref>"Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.</ref> | |
| − | + | Chanel initiated her fashion revolution by taking traditionally "poor man's" fabrics such as jersey and creating chic but comfortable clothing. Her designs were not only elegant but they were affordable. Chanel herself embodied her look by wearing a bobbed haircut and pants to social functions. She also popularized wearing bathing suits and sunbathing in public, all revolutionary trends for the 1920s. <ref>"Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.</ref> | |
| − | |||
==Retirement and Comeback== | ==Retirement and Comeback== | ||
Revision as of 10:53, 25 July 2007
David, Can you bring template/pic over from Wikipedia? It says on the tag; fair use includes: It is used for educational purposes E
| Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel | |
| Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel |
| Nationality |  French
|
| Birth date | August 19, 1883 |
| Birth place | Saumur |
| Date of death | January 10, 1971 |
| Place of death | Paris, France |
| Working Life | |
| Label Name | Chanel |
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (August 19, 1883 – January 10, 1971)[1] was a pioneering French fashion designer who single handedly launched a fashion empire that steered women away from the fussy, frilly, constricted styles of post World War I and towards understated elegance, simplicity, and comfortable chic. She, herself was a paragon of style and - and borrowing from menswear - she brought into vogue sportswear and bell bottom pants for women.
Like other modernists of the 1920s such as Diaghilev, Picasso, Stravinsky and Cocteau, she sought a new form of self expression, one that allowed for greater freedom and creativity. An impoverished childhood provided the motivation for her to make fashion more affordable and accessible - she began with creations that she made herself. Although her popularity waned after World War II she staged a comeback in the 1950s partly in reaction to Christian Dior's "New Look" and went on to become one the most important figures in the history of 20th-century fashion. Her influence on haute couture was such that she was the only person in the field to be named in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century.[2]
Early Life and Career
She was born the second daughter of itinerant merchant Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle in the small town of Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. Her parents married in 1883 the year after she was born.. She had four siblings: two sisters, Julie and Antoinette, and two brothers, Alphonse and Lucien. A third brother died in infancy in 1891 and the difficult pregancy ultimately led to the deather of her mother in 1895. Shortly thereafter her father abandoned the family and was not seen or heard from again. The daughters were put in the care of a Catholic monastery in the town of Moulins where the young Chanel learned the trade of seamstress. Some of the facts of Chanel's childhood are obscured and Chanel herself often embellished upon the details most likely to distance herself from the pain of abandonment.[3]
At the age of twenty she was befriended by wealthy and well connected textile heir, Étienne Balsan, who introduced her into an upper class social circle for which she began designing elegant hats to be worn to horse races. Newspapers quickly took note of her work. Balsan introduced Chanel to the "love of her life," English industrialist and sportsman, Arthur "Boy" Capel. With his financial backing she opened her first shop in 1910 at 21 rue Cambon in Paris. A boutique in Deauville soon followed and in 1918 she moved her firm to 31 rue Cambon where her business and residence remained for the rest of her life. Chapel's death in a car accident in 1919 was devasting for Chanel who became even more committed to her work and, although she had several highly publicized affairs, she never married. By the time of Chapel's death the House of Chanel was reaching its height of success selling dresses for over 7,000 francs each ($2000 by today's accounting). [4]
Chanel No. 5 Perfume
In 1923, Chanel began selling her trademark perfume, Chanel No. 5. She wished to create a perfume that was less florid than the popular perfumes of the time. She had perfume expert Ernest Beaux add real jasmine to the sample, and because she chose the fifth forumla he created for her, the perfume was named accordingly. Chanel chose to market the new perfume in a simple, square, unadorned bottle that complemented her own functional style and that was a departure from the fancy perfume bottles of the era. Chanel called the perfume "a woman's scent" and it subsequently went on to become one of the most expensive in the world and the standard bearer for all others. Unfortunately, Chanel was convinced that her business partner, with whom she marketed the product and who held 70% ownership of its revenues, cheated her out of the fortune that the perfume brought in.[5]
The Chanel Look
In 1925 Chanel introduced what was to become known as the classic Chanel suit - a collarless cardigan jacket made of woven wool, with tight-fitting sleeves, braid trim and gold buttons, matched with a plain but graceful skirt. The outfit could be complemented with costume pearls, mixed with real gems, which Chanel loved to wear herself. She was known to sometimes create her costume jewelry pieces directly on a live model since she was not adept at drawing. The following year she created "the little black dress" that was to become a versatile stable of both day and evening wear depending on how it was accessorized. Black, usually associated with funerals, was a revolutionary color choice for that time. Although unassuming black dresses existed before Chanel, the ones she designed were considered the haute couture standard.[6]
Chanel initiated her fashion revolution by taking traditionally "poor man's" fabrics such as jersey and creating chic but comfortable clothing. Her designs were not only elegant but they were affordable. Chanel herself embodied her look by wearing a bobbed haircut and pants to social functions. She also popularized wearing bathing suits and sunbathing in public, all revolutionary trends for the 1920s. [7]
Retirement and Comeback
For more than 30 years, Gabrielle Chanel made the Hôtel Ritz Paris her home, even during the Nazi occupation of Paris. During that time she was criticized for having an affair with Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German officer who arranged for her to remain in the hotel. She also maintained an apartment above her Rue Cambon couture house and built Villa La Pausa in the town of Roquebrune on the French Riviera. However, she spent her later years in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she is buried. Her tombstone is carved with five stone lion heads. [8]
Legacy
bathing suit, little black dress, tanning, bob hair cut etc. talk about feminism
Broadway
In 1969, Chanel was portrayed on the Broadway stage by Katharine Hepburn in a musical by Andre Previn and Alan Jay Lerner, and on screen by the French actress Marie-France Pisier. Written by William Luce, a new play based on her life, entitled 'Crème de Coco,' is also debuting in April, 2007 at St. Ambrose University and will be directed by Philip Wm. McKinley (director of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, The Boy From Oz). [1]
The House of Chanel in Paris, headed by designer Karl Lagerfeld, remains one of the top design houses.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- "Coco Chanel," American Decades, Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
- "Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.
- Ten Boom, Corrie, Tramp for the Lord, (1974) ISBN 0-340-86376-5
Notes
- ↑ Madamoiselle Chanel: The Perennially Fashionable. Chanel. Retrieved 2006-10-13.
- ↑ Ingrid Sischy (1998-06-08). Coco Chanel: She was shrewd, chic and on the cutting edge. The clothes she created changed the way women looked and how they looked at themselves. TIME 100 - The Most Important People of the Century. TIME. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- ↑ *"Coco Chanel," American Decades, Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007.
- ↑ "Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.
- ↑ "Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.
- ↑ "Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.
- ↑ "Coco Chanel," Business Leader Profiles for Students. Vol. 2. Gale Group 2002. Reproduced inBiography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale 2007.
- ↑ Findagrave. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (2003-06-16). Retrieved 2007-06-16.
External links
- "Home Page", The Official Website of Chanel, Retrieved July 23, 2007.
- "Short Biography of Coco Chanel", BiographyShelf.com, Retrieved July 23, 2007.
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