Coco Chanel

Background

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, a small town near Nantes, to a washerwoman and a clothing salesman. Her mother died when she was 12 from tuberculosis, so Chanel went to live in a boarding school in the Abbey of Aubazine, far from her hometown. Life in the French countryside exposed Chanel to the art of sewing, an activity she practiced at the boarding school where she grew up and, later, at the boarding house where she lived in the city of Moulins. When Chanel was 16, she was reunited with Adrienne, her mother’s younger sister. They both wanted to improve their lifestyle. So they started working as seamstresses at Maison Grampayre, a trousseau atelier, allowing Chanel to take the first steps toward her decades-long fashion career.

But sewing was only one of Chanel’s passions; she was fond of music as well. As luck would have it, on one of her singing nights in town, she met Étienne Balsan, her first boyfriend, a textile heir who introduced her to French high society. Her relationship with Balsan did not last long; however, his efforts in introducing Chanel to high society persisted long in her memory. Soon, Chanel fell in love with Arthur Edward Capel, an English millionaire. Seeing Chanel’s love for sewing, Capel decided to invest in her talent and helped her open her first hat store. A few years later, Chanel became the most sought-after designer in Paris, and in 1935, she reached her professional peak, with 4,000 employees, mostly women, working in ateliers and stores for her across France.

In 1939, The outbreak of World War II in France forced Chanel to close her clothing stores. However, she wasn’t deterred, and her return in 1954 was so tremendous that she won over the biggest stars of the time. Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, and Jackie Kennedy all wore Chanel from head to toe, making the pieces increasingly desirable. Even though half a century has passed since her death, the Chanel name remains synonymous with elegance and good taste.