Coco Chanel n.a. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (born August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France; died January 10, 1971 in Paris), French fashion designer who ruled Parisian haute couture for almost six decades. Women of fashion to abandon the complicated and uncomfortable attire such as petticoats and corsets that were prevalent in 19th-century clothing. .Chanel was born into poverty in the French countryside; Her mother died and her father left her in an orphanage.
After a brief stint as a saleswoman, Chanel worked as a café singer for a few years. He later associated with some wealthy men and in 1913, with the financial help of Arthur ("Boy") Capel, one of them, opened a small fashion shop in Deauville, France, where he also sold simple sportswear such as knitted sweaters.
Within five years, her original use of knit fabrics to create a "poor girl" look had attracted the attention of influential wealthy women seeking relief from the prevailing corset styles. True to her maxim "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it's not luxury", Chanel emphasized simplicity and comfort with her designs and revolutionized the fashion industry.
By the late 1920s, Chanel's industries were worth millions and employed more than 2,000 people, not only in their haute couture house but also in a perfume laboratory, textile factory and jewelry workshop. The financial basis of this empire was Chanel No.5, the phenomenally successful perfume he launched in 1921 with the help of Ernst Beaux, one of France's most talented perfumers. It has been said that the perfume got its name from the fragrance series that Beaux created for Chanel to try; She chose the fifth, a combination of jasmine and various other floral scents that was more complex and mysterious than the single perfumes then on the market.
The fact that Chanel was the first major fashion designer to launch a perfume and replace the typical perfume packaging with a simple and elegant bottle also contributed to the success of the fragrance. She teamed up with businessmen Théophile Bader of department store Galeries Lafayette and Pierre Wertheimer of cosmetics company Bourjois, who agreed to help her produce more of her fragrance and market it for a share of the profits. in the decades that followed to regain control of its signature scent.
Although she was never able to renegotiate the terms of the contract to increase her royalties, Chanel made a sizeable profit from the perfume. Especially in the 1920s, Coco Chanel had a lasting influence on women's fashion and design. By World War I, women's clothing was fairly restrictive and tended to include long skirts that were impractical for many activities. Coco Chanel helped create simpler and more practical women's clothing. Pants and suits for women were also introduced: something that didn't exist before.