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She was not afraid to break stereotypes, she worked selflessly, tirelessly. Not only a great couturier, but also an exceptional personality, a woman who always did exactly what she wanted and loved to do the most.
That’s really about whom it can not be said that she was born under a lucky star: an illegitimate girl of peasant blood, brought up in an orphanage. It is difficult to imagine a more unsuitable place for the appearance of the famous couturier. This is what strikes the phenomenon of Gabrielle Chanel – it destroys the illusion that some special conditions are needed for a successful start. In the example of Koko’s fate, we clearly see that external circumstances can be overcome, and the key to true self-realization is to understand what exactly we like to do most of all. And having understood, find yourself, your place in life and – as a result – gain prosperity or tame success.
Her path from a provincial milliner to the owner of her own fashion house was far from easy. But unconditional talent, diligence, firmness of character and charisma did their job: among her friends were outstanding artists and musicians, dukes and princes sought her favor. And girls from aristocratic families worked for her as fashion models. She had a gift, but she never called herself an artist – rather an artisan, a dressmaker. She had a gift for creating things with her hands. Coco Chanel was the first – in every possible sense of the word. Pioneer, pioneer, innovator. Male couturiers sang in their collections the unearthly female flower. She, being a woman, aspired to one thing – to liberation. From social fetters, from tortured inconvenience – everything that hampers the movements of the body, mind and soul. Her dream was to give a woman the opportunity to be herself, to live in harmony with her own nature.
Her dates
- 19 August 1883: Born in Auvergne, France.
- 1909: Opens a hat shop on the rue Cambon in Paris.
- 1914: Creates the first bestseller, the jersey shirt dress.
- 1916: Her models appear in Harper’s Bazaar.
- 1919: Haute couture house opens in Paris.
- 1921: Creates the legendary Chanel No. 5 fragrance.
- 1922: acquaintance with Russian ballet, creating costumes for the Russian Seasons.
- 1939: closes his house; from the beginning of the war until 1954, she spends a lot of time in Switzerland, mainly creating perfumes.
- 1955: The “Chanel suit” makes a splash in the US.
- January 1971: died in Paris shortly before the release of her latest collection.
Keys to Understanding
It just means quality.
She loved simple food, walks, comfortable, loose clothing and sports shoes. Simplicity was for her an indicator of quality – both clothing and life. Chanel considered one of the attributes of this desire for simplicity to be scissors that she carried with her on a ribbon: “I simplify, I cut off the superfluous, unnecessary all the time.”
Freedom is natural
“You need to be able to move in a suit. Tilt. To play golf. In a well-tailored dress, you can dance and even ride a horse.” She offered women knitwear (from which only men’s underwear had been made before), short haircuts, a shoulder bag – liberation from complex, restrictive structures and enslaving relationships was her credo. There was something more than a professional task in her desire to design the sleeves so that she could move her arms completely freely – a protest against artificiality and senseless decorativeness that went against common sense.
Work to live
“I am a bee born under the sign of Leo,” she said of herself. Her incredible ability to work was the quality for which she was forgiven a lot: uncompromisingness, exactingness, complex character. She herself believed that work helps a woman maintain a good shape: “Only work gives us good spirits. And the spirit, in turn, takes care of the fate of the body. She did not accept hired designers for her home and worked on her designs until the very end. She made her last collection at the age of 87.
Do what you love
“I do everything wholeheartedly.” For her, this was the main thing – to know what you want, and relentlessly follow the chosen path. Follow the voice of the heart both in the profession and in a purely personal one. When asked about the secret of her insight and incredible intuition that makes the collections so successful, she replied: “I always ask myself the question: honestly, could you wear this?”
Have your own judgment
Her rebellious nature demanded freedom from social stereotypes. Any trappings of status made her protest. It was she who introduced artificial jewelry into fashion, or rather, skillfully mixed natural and artificial stones. “Decoration is nothing more than a decorative element, a detail of a costume. And not a fortune that is worn around the neck and that can be sold in case of need. But in her desire for freedom there was a kind of asceticism, strict self-censorship, characteristic of all perfectionists – when a person remains the only (and most strict) judge for himself.
About it
- Marcel Edrich “The Mysterious Coco Chanel” Verb, 2007.
- Edmond Charles-Roux “Chanel Time” SLOVO / SLOVO, 2007.