Coco Chanel: The creator of our dominant choice

Coco Chanel. She was born in Samur, France in 1883. However, at age 12, her mother passed away and soon after her father abandoned her, leading to her and her sisters to move to an orphanage. Over here she began to learn how to sew and at age 18 she moved to a convent school. After leaving school, Chanel began to work as a seamstress. She had begun working in a small shop and soon after in 1910, opened her own boutique in Paris where she sold women’s hats, and further developed her interest and skillfulness in the fashion industry. This progressed over the years to include garments which began to gain increasing popularity as they started to be recognized due to their high levels of comfort, simplicity and originality. Prior to World War 1, Chanel had already managed to significantly influence the fashion world. However, it was after the war that the name of Chanel had truly skyrocketed and completely changed the way people thought about clothing. Women began to consider practicality in their clothing choices. This led to new fabrics such as jersey fabrics which were originally used for menswear to be used and modernized fashion in such a way which redefined femininity. Chanel was firm with her ideology of elegance and simplicity coming hand in hand and this influenced the style of her designs and creations.

However, despite her successes in the fashion industry, it does not mean that she had not faced obstacles as well throughout her career. Initially, when starting her business, Chanel had faced financial issues and at first her designs were rejected by society due to her inclination away from traditional clothing, which was not appreciated. During the course of World War 1, she had to temporarily close her business and used this period of time to experiment with different styles and fabrics. As her fame grew, the complexities in her life also increased. She had become involved with a German officer during the time of World War 2, and she was accused of having relationships with the Nazis which led to her having to close her business and live in exile in Switzerland. But even this did not hold her back. At the age of 70, in 1954, she made a comeback in the fashion industry and introduced a new collection, some of which have become iconic till this date.

“My life didn’t please me so I created my own life” said the famous Coco Chanel. Despite various hardships in her life, she had proven herself numerous times and rose to the top. She used her life’s challenges as inspiration for her designs and creations which inspired women to be courageous, bold and true to themselves. Chanel has taught us to be resilient in life and is an inspiration to everyone out there to dream big and has proven that nothing can stop you from achieving your dreams.

Bibliography

• Fischer, C. (2024, August 20). How Coco Chanel Shaped Fashion History. Sothebys.com. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/how-coco-chanel-shaped-fashion-history 

• Shumadieva, K. (2024, September 1). The Inspiring Life of Coco Chanel – FG Slow Fashion. Coco Chanel: From Poverty to Fashion Icon. https://thefashionglobe.com/coco-chanel/