Coco Chanel
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” This was said by a woman who embodied her own uniqueness flawlessly. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel is considered to be a fashion icon. She helped shaped fashion’s advancement and improvement. From her dark childhood to her first couture house, continuing her fashion and struggling through the World Wars, Coco Chanel continued to shine a light on beauty. Her lasting legacy has influenced countries afar, including America. Her love for fashion started in her childhood, which was anything but simple.
In 1883 on August 19th in Saumur, France, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born. Her father, Albert Chanel, was a peddler and spent most of his time traveling (“Coco Chanel”) Before she was born, her mother, Jeanne Devolle, and father met in a small village and when he left, her mother got pregnant. Her father had no knowledge of this so her mother had to go searching for him. When she found him, he decided against marrying her but was still present at Gabrielle’s older sister’s birth. Her older sister, Julia Chanel, was born on September 11th, 1882. After Gabrielle was born, her parents had a “shotgun wedding” on November 17th, 1884 (Charles-Roux 18, 31). Soon after, on March 15th of 1885, her brother was born. Alphonse Chanel would be
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However, the company as a whole is held by the Wertheimer family. Chanel is worth over 19 billion dollars. When Lagerfeld took over, he brought a new contemporary look to Chanel. He spread the company even more than Coco could ever dream of. The influence in America was incredibly noticeable as politician’s wives, models, singers, actresses; anyone who could afford Chanel was wearing it. It brought a new modern, elegant, simplistic, and daring edge to fashion. Most of American fashion is based on Chanel’s influence (Bott
Madame C. J. Walker, named Sarah Breedlove at birth, was born December 23, 1867, in Delta, Louisiana, to Owen and Minerva Breedlove, both of whom were emancipated (freed) slaves and worked on a cotton plantation. At the age of six Sarah's parents died after the area was struck by yellow fever, a deadly disease oftentimes spread by mosquitoes. The young girl then moved to Vicksburg to live with her sister Louvinia and to work as a housemaid. She worked hard from the time she was very young, was extremely poor, and had little opportunity to get an education. In order to escape the terrible environment created by Louvinia's husband, Sarah married Moses McWilliams when she was only fourteen years old. At eighteen she gave birth to a daughter she named Lelia. Two years later her husband died.
As child, Margaret was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother; her father had been taken hostage in Dijon, Burgundy when she was only a few years old. With her mother in charge of her education, Margaret was able to study with the same tutors who taught her brothers until the age of fift...
By Steven M. Chermak. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2007. 139-60. Print. "Coco Chanel Quote."
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
...s far as the author is concern, the fact that CoCo Chanel left the Victorian ideas and lived a life of her own made other women admire her. According to the author, clothing design was her star that raised her above other women. It would be better if other women would emulate her character and moral beliefs that should attract other women.
In the industry of cosmetology there has been women that have played an important role. Like Sarah Breedlove, who later became known as Madam C.J. Walker was America’s first African American female millionaire. She was born poor and orphaned, but later built her own business of manufacture hair products. A scalp infection lead her to the creation of her products. Like many women she struggled to find the solution to her problem, after she tried thousands of products, soon she started loosing her hair. While sleeping she had a dream of a man advising her of ingredients she needed to mix. She got up the next morning and did as her dream demanded. To her surprise this product had worked, she then begun selling her unique formula (“Beauty”). Who would have thought a women could have became so successful. They say dreams can lead you to great accomplishments and this was the case of Sarah Breedlove. Another example of a successful women is Jane Iredale, founder and president of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. Jane Iredale introduced the full line of cosmetics, she wanted to create cosmetics that were beneficial to the skin. In order to make her products the best, she collaborated with make up artist, dermatologist, and plastic surgeons in the production (“Beauty”). These two women are great icons of the Beaut...
The hems of skirts and dresses rise to a newer, more promiscuous level. Traditional long hair, supposedly the crowning glory of a woman, is cut shoulder-length or shorter. Defined waistlines are lost, giving way to a shapeless and loose fitting style of clothing. Manufacturing of cosmetics has emerged during this decade, and a variety of products have become popular among women. The famous Gabrielle Chanel, more commonly known as “Coco Chanel,” performs her renowned performance in the late 1920s (Yarwood 139).
December 19th, 1778- Marks the birth of daughter her daughter Marie-Thérèse Charlott. She was born at Versailles after difficulties in labor, and given the title “Madame Royale”.
Werle, Simone. Fashionista A Century of Style Icons. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. Print.
Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonhuer Chanel, on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France was an amazing woman who redefined fashion as we know it today. She was a clothing designer who revolutionized the fashion industry with her suits, little black dresses, and avant garde flare. Because of this quickly in her young life she became well know, and rose to be the fashion icon that she is today. From the timeless designs that are still popular to this day, and the sophisticated outfits that can be paired with great accessories Chanel has done it all. When it comes down to it though it was Coco Chanel’s philosophy that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury” that lead to her success. (“Coco Chanel”)
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born August 10, 1883 in Saumur, France. She was one of five children and lived in a poor town called Loire Valley. At the age of 12 her mother passed away and her father abandoned her to an orphanage. Chanel and her other siblings got sent to the Covent of Aubazine, as it was a demanding place, she fled from there to go to a boarding school for Catholic girls in the town of Moulin. She was raised by nuns and they taught her how to sew, a skill that helped her later in life.
Marie Gouze (Olympe de Gouges) was born in Montauban, France on May 7 of 1793. Olympe was born into a family belonging to the petty bourgeoisie; her father was a butcher and her maternal grandfather owned a business of cloths. At the age of seventeen years, Olympe de Gouges was forced to marry an older man. Olympe’s only son named Pierre Aubrey was born from this union. After the death of her husband and completely disappointed with the meaning of marriage, Olympe decided to move to Paris and give a good education to her only child.
The famous French designer Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, more commonly known as Coco Chanel, was born in Saumur France on August 19, 1883 (“Coco Chanel” Britannica par. 1). Chanel is known for not claiming any of her family, or anyone she had relations with before she was rich. She often made up different stories about her parents (Madsen 3). With how successful Coco was, it may be hard to believe that she was born and raised in poverty (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). Chanel spent most of her childhood in an orphanage; due to the fact that her mother died and her father abandoned her (“Coco Chanel.” Britannica par. 2). In the orphanage, Chanel was raised by Catholic nuns. The nuns are the reason Chanel became as famous as she did for two reasons; they taught Chanel how to sew, and they also taught her to be confident in her work (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). “Arrogance is in everything I do. It is in my gestures, the harshness of my voice, in the glow of my gaze, in my sinewy, tormented face” (“Coco Chanel.” Voguepedia par. 3). While she was still performing, Chanel got her distinctive nickname from soldier...
Chanel was nicknamed “Coco” after a lost dog in a popular song she loved to sing. Her early career was funded by a succession of her rich lovers. This allowed her to open her first shop in Paris in 1910. She sold hats as well as some garments. Coco developed a significant following of clientele who enjoyed her practical sportswear creating great success.
Fashion has been around ever since ancient times, since the time of the Romans, it survived the world wars and is yet today a business with rapid changes. Fashion started off as an art form, a way for the rich to show their social status with unique and innovative designs that only they could afford. It was a way to separate the social classes of the society. In this paper I will include the creators of haute couture, and how the following designers developed couture, as well as leading names in today’s ready-to-wear industry. The list is long, but I chose to focus on the three most important designers in the modern fashion industry.