Discover how Coco Chanel creates one of the world's luxury fashion brands. The House of Chanel story, from 1910 to the present, written by Coco, Karl, and Virginie
Chanel is a magical name in the world of fashion. Its iconic double-C logo, as well as Chanelisms like the quilted bag, camellias, and the number five, need no explanation.
Chanel is a brand whose DNA is detectable even before turning the corner. We tell the story of how the fashion, accessories, jewelry, and cosmetics company started with Coco Chanel, changed under Karl Lagerfeld, and got a new start under Virginie Viard.
In the 1920s, Chanel revolutionized fashion by presenting simple dresses and jackets in jersey (then an unheard-of fabric for luxury design) that a lady could live, love, dine, and dance in. When Chanel reopened her house in 1953 after being closed during the war, her tweed cardigan suits with passementerie trim and chain-weighted hems became a stylish uniform once more.
The Woman who changed the Fashion World: Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, to street vendor Albert Chanel and his fiancée Eugénie Jeanne Deville. If everything went well, they could be able to live in a farmhouse, but Eugéine dies of bronchitis at age 31 and Albert leaves Gabrielle in an orphanage when she is just 12 years old. Coco spent her entire life feeling ashamed of her sad childhood, which explains the mysterious and missing details in her biography.
"If you were born without wings, don’t stop them from growing."
Gabrielle, who learned to sew at the Aubazine orphanage for six years, works as a tailor and occasionally performs at the La Rotonde cabaret. She gets her nickname 'Coco' from one of her songs, Qui Qu'a Vu Coco?
In 1905, Coco meets the young and affluent urban aristocrat Etienne Balsan, and she begins to enjoy the advantages of her new life, which began in Balsan's castle. She met Balsan's buddy, polo player Arthur Edward "Boy" Capel, in the spring of 1908. Arthur advises Coco to open a hat boutique and offers to financially support her; this will later lead to both private and business partnerships.
Coco, on the other hand, remains faithful to Balsan, who helped launch her career; he moves from the castle to the Paris residence where he normally takes his mistresses and begins to produce there. Coco's initial clients are Balsan's mistresses, who talk about her talent to their friends. Things begin to go so successfully that this single house becomes too tiny for her.
Coco finally leaves Balsan and moves in with Arthur in 1910. The next year, she becomes a licensed hat designer and operates Chanel Modes at 21 Rue Cambon. In a short period of time, the street became well-known around the world and was named after her.
In 1913, she starts a boutique in Deauville, and this woman, who designs her own hats, now wants to create her own apparel collection. Coco devises a remedy to the risk of confronting an illegal issue because she needs a clothing designer license; she creates the outfits with jersey fabric, which was previously used only for men's underwear. In addition, fashion history collides with the revolution.
Coco, who does not sketch or sew her clothes, usually throws a piece of fabric on the mannequin as she works, then cuts and pins it until the desired silhouette appears. During this time, the stories behind almost all of the classic pieces he made for women's wardrobes and the fashion world are told.
"In order to be indispensable, you must always be unique."
Coco introduces her iconic collarless jacket and fitted skirt design, putting femininity and constraint aside and focusing on the tailoring and comfort of masculinity. Women's trousers are the most original model.
Coco adds her own interpretation to the jacket, lifting the belt and embroideries, softening the lines, and putting the design in an almost masculine line, keeping the Chanel fashion house on a simple, practical, and elegant line.
She chooses black to grieve her lover Arthur's death in an automobile accident in 1919, and she delicately incorporates this color into his daily life, signing the little black dress.
Coco has received more than just clothing from guys; she cuts her hair short since it is easy to care for and proudly wears it in public. Women should have long hair until then, and her behavior defies all expectations.
Coco starts another boutique in Biarritz during the summer of the 1920s. Meanwhile, she meets Dmitri Pavlovich, a Russian political emigrant. Coco, inspired by her exotic partner, embarks on a lengthy research and work process with a Russian perfumer she met through Dmitri. Coco selects the fifth of the 10 examples offered to her after months of experimentation. No. 5, the first perfume made using synthetic components rather than natural essences, is still the best-selling perfume in the world.
"Fashion is temporary; The only thing that lasts is style."
Despite World War II, Coco stayed in Paris and kept working. After the War was over, Coco was jailed for a few hours after being detained for having ties with SS-Major-General Walter Friedrich Schellenberg during World War II. She moved to Switzerland shortly after this episode and stayed for nearly ten years.
In 1955 designers may be seen on practically every street corner in postwar France. Christian Dior, a young fashion designer, is one of them. Dior criticizes Coco Chanel's designs by saying, "With a black sweater and ten rows of pearls, she transformed the fashion world." At that time, Dior dressed ladies like flowers.
"Look at how absurd women look wearing the clothes of a man who has never been with a woman before, doesn't know women, and dreams of being a woman," Chanel says after returning to Paris. She prepares her new collection by renting two rooms at the Ritz, her favorite hotel. Although some undervalue the collection for "offering nothing new," the other side of the coin represents Coco's enduring status as Chanel - they are not "new" because they are eternal, ageless, and distinguished.
The Tweed Suit
Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Jackie Kennedy were among the first celebrities to wear the Chanel suit, making it an instant classic. The 2.55 Flap was created by Coco Chanel in February 1955. The 2.55 was the first bag designed for women to have a shoulder strap, a gesture of stylish liberty. This Chanel handbag highlighted usefulness, comfort, and refined taste. Mademoiselle Chanel continued to work diligently on her life's work from that point forward, enhancing the appeal of Chanel with slingback heels and quilted leather purses.
Mademoiselle Chanel gently passed away in her room at the Hôtel Ritz in Paris on January 10, 1971, when she was 87 years old. The freedom of the female body and the impact Coco Chanel had on the fashion industry are incomparable. Chanel was the quintessential avant-garde woman—brave, independent, and decades ahead of her time—inspiring future generations.
Karl Lagerfeld - a serios player
After Coco's death, the design house's co-founder, Alain Wertheimer, went into hibernation, and it wasn't until 1983 that he contacted Karl Lagerfeld about restarting the legendary label. There was a need to spruce up the home and update the Chanel wardrobe. The Chanel suit will become Karl's best play game.
"Fashion is a game to be played seriously."
Lagerfeld, having absorbed the house codes, gave them a postmodern twist by incorporating elements from the street and his irresistible sense of humor. Lagerfeld's legacy is as significant as Coco's because of how dynamic and strong the two were together. At the same time that the world and the fashion industry were going global, helped along by advances in communication, he devised the double-C emblem that became recognized everywhere.
Lagerfeld, who has lived by designing and producing haute couture collections whose archetypal is Chanel, is the name that defined the laws of attraction for over half a century, even if his silhouettes shift radically from season to season.
One of the most unique ideas Karl contributed to the wildly successful fashion brand was the Métiers d'Art fashion presentations, which are staged annually in December as a tribute to the signature craftsmanship of Chanel's ateliers. This recognition of 26 workshops is significant for the brand's background because Coco herself had a hand in some of them including Lesage (engraving), Gossens (goldwork), Lemarié (feathers), and Maison Michel (hat creation).
Fashion presentations are like plays to Lagerfeld, therefore he constructs lavish sets at the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées and performs his shows there. To the point that the Chanel shows are the most talked about and awaited of any fashion week.
Karl Lagerfeld recreated one of Coco Chanel's most renowned designs, the 2.55 Flap Bag, during his first year as creative director at Chanel. Therefore, Lagerfeld's decision to re-create such a classic item was quite ambitious. His innovative concept was channeled through the Classic Double Flap bag, which was an instant hit. Lagerfeld's redesign introduced two new elements: a leather braided chain and a Double C turn-lock fastening. The Classic Double Flap immediately became a mainstay statement item, just as widely worn and uncomplicated as the 2.55.
The Muses and Living Legacy of Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld's inspirations helped define his creations as timeless masterpieces, following in the footsteps of Coco Chanel, who clothed the most fashionable women of her generation. From German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, who named Lagerfeld's Classic Flap her most prized Chanel handbag, to French singer Vanessa Paradis, who has publicly cherished the Coco Cocoon bag for decades, famous icons continue to be an important part of the Chanel brand. Princess Diana of Wales, the ultimate style symbol of the 1980s and 1990s, deserves special mention. The Chanel Diana purse, designed by Lagerfeld and produced from 1989 to 1995, is a sought-after treasure among vintage collectors and Diana fans alike. This famous style is similar to the Chanel Single Flap, and Princess Diana wore it so frequently that Karl Lagerfeld considered it only fair to recognize her in the name. Despite its revival in the Spring 2015 collection, the vintage Chanel Diana in caviar leather remains the rarest and most sought-after version ever created. Kristen Stewart, one of Lagerfeld's more recent Chanel muses, plays Princess Diana in an exciting cinematic moment in the film "Spencer".
Karl Lagerfeld never stopped looking to Mademoiselle Chanel's design archives for inspiration, from the Boy Bag (inspired by Coco Chanel's lover Arthur "Boy" Capel) to the Perfume Bottle Bag (made a tribute to Chanel's classic No.5 perfume bottle design).
Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld's right-hand girl, took over as creative director immediately after his death. In a full circle moment, Viard's appointment is the first time a woman has led the fashion brand since its eponymous founder, Coco Chanel.
The New Name of Modern French Style
Virgine Viard, who has been a part of the design brand since 1987, took over as creative director after Karl Lagerfeld passed away on February 19, 2019. Viard had spent the last thirty years of his life working closely with Lagerfeld.
Virginie Viard, who now carries Karl Lagerfeld's legacy at Chanel, faces a difficult task.
Introducing her first fashion show with the Cruise 2020 collection, Viard will be the name that best continues the fashion house's legacy, thanks to the fact that she carries the fashion relationship that has been passed down through her family for generations, her role in the endochondral of Chanel's DNA codes over the years, and her effortless French style.
Virginie Viard, the Woman Behind Chanel’s New Chapter
Chanel's 2019-20 Cruise Collection Show had a travel theme and appeared to be a transitional period rather than a new departure.
After 35 years with the German designer at the helm, Chanel chose a railway station location to commemorate this new chapter in its history. It was a symbolic decision for the first post-Karl Lagerfeld show, but it was also inextricably linked to Chanel's heritage, which frequently invoked travel in its designs. The relatively minimalist station, with only a single, long row of seats along the platforms, where the guests/travelers sat facing empty rail lines, seemed to signify a departure from Chanel's usual, flamboyant imaginary universe, and the grandiose sets it used to treat the fashion world to.
The railway set was perfectly adapted to the Grand Palais hall in Paris, appropriating the building's own style to recreate the authentic feel of a XIXth century station, with romantic, charmingly outdated destinations like Venice, Antibes, Bombay, and Byzantium, and featuring conductors clad in navy blue hats and white shirts bearing the logo of the 'Chanel Express' travel company.
This station, which was devoid of trains, served as a metaphor for the impending shift. Backstage, though, there was a distinct shine and luxury. Before the event, visitors were invited to a meal at the Café-Diner Leа Riviera, whose interior décor was designed to look like a genuine Belle Epoque station restaurant, reflecting the aesthetic of Paris's iconic Le Train Bleu restaurant.
There are connections between the beginning of Coco Chanel's work and Virginie Viard's: both ladies were raised in a convent, started off designing women's hats, and eventually moved on to using sensual jersey knits for dresses and skirts. Virginie was raised by parents who were doctors, taught sewing by her mother, and was inspired by her silk-producing grandparents. Under the brand name Nirvana, Virginie created an early clothing collection made of jersey knits.
In her day, Coco put in a lot of effort to ascend to the top of the fashion world, just as Virginie's success did not happen suddenly. Virginie is considered to have her own eccentricities by at least one Chanel brand ambassador. Coco was well renowned for her quirks and perfectionism.
Virginie has given relatively few media interviews since taking on the role of artistic director; she is obviously concerned with the chance to present her vision for Chanel, post-Lagerfeld, and is typically in a flurry of design meetings, showings, and studio work.
To illustrate the new path the House of Chanel was taking, the Chanel team last year chose director Sofia Coppola to work on the sets of the Chanel 2019/20 Métiers D'art show and to direct a behind-the-scenes video. As Virginie Viard prepared to unveil her clothing line at a display at the Grand Palais, the outcome was an intriguing behind-the-scenes interview with a surprisingly personable Virginie Viard.
Virginie was born in 1962 and came from a prosperous household. Her grandparents worked in the silk industry. She worked as Dominique Borg's costume designer assistant after completing courses in theatre design.
Virginie began working at the House of Chanel as an embroidery intern in 1987. Karl Lagerfeld hired her to work with him at Chloé five years later. There, she collaborated on the costumes for a few movies from the mid-1990s, including Three Colors: Blue and Three Colors: White, with French actress Isabelle Adjani. Virginie returned to Chanel a few years later, and by the year 2000, she had established herself in the company's ready-to-wear department.
Château Chenonceau hosted Chanel's 2020/21 Métiers D'art
Viard calls her aesthetic "flea market hits," an updated version of the bohemian look that Lagerfeld popularized at Chloé. When asked by Coppola in the YouTube video what she believed her primary task was during Fashion Week, Viard calmly replied: “Sixty girls to dress.”
All eyes were on Viard's designs for the Chanel 2019/20 Métiers d'art presentation, which included off-the-shoulder, asymmetrical, ruffled print dresses, and midriff-baring blouses. Flared and sequined capris, chain belts with little purses, tweed skirts with front frills, and heather pink tops all swung with each step.
The extravagant 16th-century castle in the Loire Valley, Château Chenonceau, which has been the setting for numerous television specials, welcomes more than a million tourists each year and is best known as the former residence of Catherine de Medici, hosted Chanel's 2020/21 Métiers d'art presentation.
Beautifully dressed models paraded through the castle's corridors wearing floor-length blue flowery batik skirts and vintage Chanel tops with camelia lapels. Naturally, many outfits were finished off with the recognizable CC, the most coveted bling in any fashionista's jewelry collection.
In 2021, several classic designs are given a modern makeover to honor Coco's memory. Pink leggings have been added to traditional designs like Chanel's timeless black and white look, which was popularized by Viard. And frocks occasionally evoke the nuns who served as Coco Chanel's primary source of inspiration.