Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel is among the most famous fashion designers in the world and her name still lives on through the Chanel brand. Her nickname Coco is said to come from the songs she sang as a youngster in a French cabaret, but she claims it's a shortened version of the French word cocotte, meaning "holding girl".
Not only Coco Chanel's extraordinary influence on the fashion industry before and after her death, but her personal story and love life have also captivated thousands of people around the world.
In her early years, Coco was raised in an orphanage where she learned to sew. This skill plays an important role throughout her life. Before focusing on fashion, Gabrielle had a brief career as a singer, which met her with a man who opened unknown doors for her and introduced her to all the right people.
Coco becomes engaged to wealthy heir Etienne Balsan and lives with him as his mistress in his impressive mansion outside Paris. It was there that she entered the circles of extremely rich people from the upper class. It is also the fateful place where Chanel meets one of Balsan's influential friends - Arthur "Boy" Capel. She is instantly captivated by his cool and eclectic charm.
Boy was an Englishman, a wealthy man himself, a polo player, ship owner, politician and tycoon. Despite his many ventures, today he is better known for his 9-year love affair with the great Coco Chanel.
Many people don't fully realize the impact Boy had on Coco's life, as he was not only her lover, but also her fashion muse and the man who financed her first fashion store in Paris.
Arthur's sense of style is a driving force for the young, in love and searching Coco. It is he who inspires her to include a masculine touch in classic women's clothing styles. Chanel transforms one of his men's flannels into a women's dress on a chilly day, changing the way women dress forever. Before that, women wore corsets, which were terribly uncomfortable. Coco found them tasteless.
Coco says many years later on the subject of the shirt; "My fortune is built on this old jersey I wore because it was cold in Deauville." Deauville is where she spends many of her secret meetings with Boy – as he was a married man.
Chanel's entire philosophy was rooted in designing what Coco wanted to create, rather than following the trends of the time, which included tailored suits and clothes. This was expressed in a new type of clothing - no corsets, striped tops and black clothes. Everything was based on comfort to allow women to breathe, eat and move freely.
These were not the only things leading to a revolution in fashion. Chanel created the little black dress in the 1920s, which is still part of the wardrobe of every stylish woman.
This iconic dress was inspired by Arthur's tragic death in 1919 in a fatal car accident in his chauffeur driven Rolls Royce while traveling to visit Coco for a Christmas rendezvous. Chanel is going through her mourning period of wearing black. She says the whole world will wear black with her, which is where the little black dress evolved from. At that time, black was only associated with death.
Coco Chanel shows the world how black can be chic, how it can be worn for evening wear. Thanks to her relationship with the magnetic Boy Capel, she changed fashion forever and allowed it to evolve from corsets and sumptuous skirts to contemporary class.
One of the heartbreaking facts about Coco's life is that Boy once asked for her hand in marriage, but she refused because she wanted to earn money first through her own labor. After his fatal death, Chanel stated that Boy was the love of her life. She never married after his death. Thanks to Arthur Capel's style and finances, and his torrid love affair with Coco, the Chanel brand still exists today. /BGNES