Gabrielle Chanel, more popularly known as Coco Chanel, was born in 1883 in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire in France to a street vendor and laundrywoman, and had five siblings. After her mother’s death, her father sent Chanel along with her sisters to an orphanage, which is believed to have helped her become a successful designer. While she was at the orphanage, she learned to sew garments, which helped her get a job as a seamstress later. She also performed as a singer in a cabaret at the time. Picture of the famous French high fashion designer Coco Chanel taken in 1944 in Paris. Photo: AFP
Chanel is known to have had many relationships during her life but it was the one with Englishman Captain Arthur Edward Capel which influenced her fashion label the most. It is believed that the inspiration for the design of Coco Chanel’s first perfume Chanel No. 5 bottles came from the Charvet toiletry bottles he carried with him during his travels, or the whiskey decanter, Capel always had with him. This picture shows an ancient bottle of Chanel N°5 perfume displayed during the exhibition "Gabrielle Chanel, fashion manifesto" at the Galliera Palais fashion museum in Paris on September 25, 2020. Photo: AFP
While with her first partner Étienne Balsan, Chanel started making hats before becoming a licensed hatmaker in 1910. It led her to open a boutique at 21 Rue Cambon in Paris. Three years later, she opened another boutique in Deauville, which sold her designs of comfort clothing made from jersey and tricot. After achieving success in Deauville and Biarritz later, she bought a building in 21 Rue Cambon and became a registered couturier to officially start her fashion house in the district by 1921. This picture shows sketches by the French designer displayed during the exhibition "Gabrielle Chanel, fashion manifesto" at the Galliera Palais fashion museum in Paris on September 25, 2020. Photo: AFP
In 1931, over a decade after successfully establishing herself as a designer, Chanel met Polish-American filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn, who introduced her to Hollywood. While her love for Hollywood was short-lived, she did create clothing for the likes of Gloria Swanson in Tonight or Never (1931) and for Ina Claire in The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932). Seen here is a creation by the French designer displayed during the exhibition "Gabrielle Chanel, fashion manifesto" at the Galliera Palais fashion museum in Paris on September 25, 2020. Photo: AFP
Even though she was known as a fashion powerhouse, her Nazi connections during the Second World War cannot be ignored. While the Germans were staying at the Hotel Ritz in Paris during the war, where she met officer Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage. Years later, it was found that she was an anti-Semite and a part of several Nazi missions under the pseudonym Westminster, based on her past romantic links with the Duke of Westminster. She also had an agent number (F-7124). Yet, here is a picture of the unveiling of a gold coin worth 5,900 euros (7,440 US dollars) representing the French designer "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) on November 19, 2008 at Paris Hotel des Monnaies (The French Mint). Photo: AFP
Coco Chanel passed away on January 10, 1971 at 87 at the Hotel Ritz, which was her residence for almost 30 years. Her funeral, which was held at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris was attended by the likes of Salvador Dali and Yves Saint-Laurent. Having spent many years in Switzerland since 1945, she was buried at the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery, Lausanne. A picture taken on January 4, 2021 at the Bois-de-Vaux cemetery in Lausanne shows the grave of the French couture legend who died fifty years ago on January 10, 1971. Photo: AFP
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