Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel broke rules and rank and expectations at every turn. A seamstress turned hat maker turned designer, she rose from a life plagued by poverty and pain. Albert Chanel, a peddler by trade, left Gabrielle and her two sisters at an orphanage in Aubazine, France after the death of her mother; she was 11-years-old. Learning to sew from the Catholic nuns who ran the orphanage likely changed her fate, as this skill eventually propelled her to fashion stardom.

• Born Gabrielle Chanel in Samur, Loire Valley, France on August 19, 1883, Gabrielle was the second of five children for Albert Chanel, an itinerant peddler, and Jeanne Devolle, who died of a lung condition in 1894.
• Following the death of her mother, Albert left his daughters at an Aubazine orphanage run by Catholic nuns(congregation of Saint-Coeur de Marie); Coco was 11. Her two brothers were given to families as laborers in exchange for a fee. Albert never returned to visit his children.
• Coco fabricated different stories about her childhood. She told many that she lived with wealthy and miserly maiden aunts. She never spoke about being in an orphanage.

Love affairs with aristocrats and high-ranking officials are woven into her history, although she never married. Some of these men embraced Coco’s talent, helping her get established as a designer. Using the connections these men provided, Coco’s designs wound up on many wealthy women, a fact that simply increased the demand for her work. She loved haute couture, but reveled in the fact that her designs could be replicated and worn by all. Most who wear Chanel now simply equate her name with high fashion. But to those who have studied her life, it is clear she wanted ubiquity – to be known and worn by all.

• Gabrielle’s first onstage appearance occurred in Moulins at a popular café, La Rotonde. It is surmised she earned her nickname “Coco” there because she sang songs with the word Coco.
• Etienne Balsan helped Coco launch her own hat shop in Paris while Coco was his mistress.
• Coco became romantically involved with Arthur “Boy” Capel in 1910; he helped her expand her business beyond the confines of Paris.
• In 1914, she expanded beyond hats to clothes, first designing uniforms for those in the military, and then uniforms for women performing the work men did before the war.Eventually, she designed women’s wear – tubular, chemise dresses made of jersey material were among her first designs. By 1916, Women's Wear Daily and Vogue recognized her designs in print.
• In the 1920’s, she designed slacks for women and began designing black evening dresses, claiming that the loud colors of the theater made her “ill.” By 1926, she created an entire series of simple, black dresses made of wool for daytime wear, and of silk or chiffon for evening wear.
• By October 1926, Vogue referred to Chanel’s little black dress as “The Chanel ‘Ford” – the frock that all the world will wear.” No longer a color reserved for those in mourning or employed as a housemaid, she again changed the face of fashion.
• Her relationships with aristocrats also placed her in the orbit of many political figures, including Winston Churchill before he served as the Prime Minister of England. Churchill enjoyed visiting Coco and the Duke of Westminster at La Pausa, their estate on the French Rivera.
• The majority of Chanel’s wealth came from the Parfums Chanel, in which she owned only 10% interest. Paul and Pierre Wertheimer, founders of Bourjois cosmetics, owned the remaining 90%.

Without explanation, she closed all of her shops in 1940, shortly after WWII began. Questions about her relationships with the Nazis abound. Some say Coco got involved with the Nazis to secure the release of Andre Pelasse, a young man related to one of her former suitors. Others say she joined ranks with the Nazis because of her anti-Jewish beliefs. Whatever the reason, Coco enjoyed the protections of the Nazis during the war. Also during this time, she unsuccessfully attempted to wrest control of her company from the Wertheimers, brothers of Jewish descent who underwrote her involvement in the perfume industry.

• During WWII, she had a well documented love affair with a Nazi intelligence officer – Barron Hans Gunther von Dincklage (known as “Spatz”).
• Her relationship with Dincklage was the likely avenue that led to her involvement in espionage for the Nazi Regime. It has been posited that she initially engaged in espionage for the Nazis to secure the release of Andre Palasse. Although possibly true, it also appears that she continued these efforts, perhaps in part due to the alleged promise to wrest control of the perfume empire away from the Wertheimer family.

Eight years after the war, Coco announced her return to fashion. Although Parisians initially rejected her fashions as backward looking, Americans fully embraced her fashion, a fact that prompted French critics to dial back their criticism. In December 1953, she formally announced her intention to return to fashion – having strategically maneuvered the Wertheimers into backing her new venture and giving her increased profits (her departure from fashion caused an eventual downturn in profits from the Parfums Chanel).

• Parisians met her reemergence into fashion with distain, but the American women embraced it. Her lines thrived in America, which caused her French critics to soften their stance.
• On May 24, 1954, she agreed to sign away all rights to her name and profits of her company (but for 2% of the income from the perfume line) in exchange to have Wertheimer pay all expenses, salaries and costs of production, including her own salary. She retained exclusive rights for the design of her clothes, but not the profits. Her quid for the pro quo of security.
• She continued to work at a steady pace, designing clothes that maximized the wearers comfort and range of motion until her death on January 10, 1971.

Read more about Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in Rhonda Garelick's book "Mademoiselle; Coco Chanel and Pulse of History."

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