Contents
Coco Chanel
Building Chanel and popularising a simpler style of women’s dress.
Chanel No. 5 · Little black dress
- Born
- 19 August 1883
- Birthplace
- Saumur, France
- Died
- 10 January 1971
More people
Coco Chanel
A French designer whose clothing, accessories and perfume helped define twentieth-century fashion, alongside a controversial wartime history.
Early life
Difficult childhood
Her mother died while she was young; she grew up partly in convent care.
Early work
Worked as a seamstress and sang before establishing a fashion business.
Career
- 1910
Paris shop
Opened a millinery shop selling hats.
- 1910s
Fashion expansion
Expanded into clothing and seaside boutiques.
- 1939
Closure
Closed her couture house at the outbreak of war.
- 1954
Return
Reopened her Paris fashion business.
Selected work
Chanel No. 5
Launched the perfume developed with Ernest Beaux.
Little black dress
Helped establish a simple black dress as versatile fashion.
2.55 handbag
Introduced the shoulder bag named for its launch date.
Beyond work
Wartime record
Had documented links to Nazi intelligence during occupied France.
Later years
Lived in Switzerland before returning to Paris.
Sources & photo credit
Biographical reference ↗Metropolitan Museum: Chanel’s designs ↗Photo: Los Angeles Times. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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