Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (August 19, 1883 – January 10, 1971) was a pioneering French couturier whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her arguably the most important figure in the history of 20th-century fashion design.

Related Topics:
August 19 - 1883 - January 10 - 1971 - French - Couturier

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Popularly known as Coco Chanel or "Mademoiselle" by her inner circle, she was born in the small city of Saumur, France. Shortly after her birth, her father abandoned the family and the Chanel children were then placed in the care of relatives and spent some time in an orphanage. In 1909 Coco Chanel opened a shop in Paris selling ladies hats and within a year moved the business to the fashionable Rue Cambon. Her influence on haute couture was such that she was the only person in the field to be named on the List of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Saumur - Haute couture - List of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century

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Two of her most famous creations are Chanel No. 5 perfume, launched in 1923, and the influential Chanel suit, an elegant suit comprised of a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black trim and gold buttons and worn with large costume-pearl necklaces. She also popularized the little black dress, whose blank-slate versatility allowed it to be worn for day and evening, depending on how it was accessorized. Although unassuming black dresses existed before Chanel, the ones she designed were considered the haute couture standard. In 1923, she told Harper's Bazaar that "simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."

Related Topics:
Chanel No. 5 - Chanel suit - Little black dress - Harper's Bazaar

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The nickname Coco was evidently acquired at La Rotonde, a cafe frequented by members of a French cavalry regiment and numerous of the great artists who flocked to Paris' Montparnasse section at the turn of the 20th century. It was there that Chanel, then a cabaret singer, performed a song called "Qui qu'a vu Coco," and the name stuck. (Other sources state that the her audiences cried "Coco" when they wanted an encore, while further sources state that the song was called "Ko Ko Ri Ko," French for "Cock-a-doodle-do.")

Related Topics:
La Rotonde - Montparnasse

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Chanel was set up in business by a lover, Etienne Balsan, a French textile heir, and her love affairs with the artist Paul Iribe, the 2nd Duke of Westminster, Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia, and British sportsman Boy Capel all had a considerable influence on the stylistic evolution of her often male-inspired fashions. She never married.

Related Topics:
Etienne Balsan - Paul Iribe - Duke of Westminster - Grand Duke Dmitri - Boy Capel

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For more than thirty years, Gabrielle Chanel made the Hôtel Ritz in Paris her home, even during the Nazi occupation of Paris, during which time she was criticized for taking a German military officer as a lover. She maintained an apartment above her Rue Cambon establishment and also owned Villa La Pausa in the town of Roquebrune on the French Riviera. However, she spent her latter years in Lausanne, Switzerland and is buried there in a tomb surrounded by five stone lions.

Related Topics:
Hôtel Ritz - Nazi - Roquebrune - French Riviera - Lausanne - Switzerland

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One of her common quotes is: "Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes. Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind. One intuits it. It is in the sky and on the road."

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Chanel has been 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.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Katharine Hepburn - Andre Previn - Alan Jay Lerner - Marie-France Pisier

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The House of Chanel in Paris, under Karl Lagerfeld, remains one of the top design houses today.

Related Topics:
House of Chanel - Paris - Karl Lagerfeld

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