From a singer to a fashion godmother, Gabriel Chanel unexpectedly made a class leap that almost became a miracle in 20th-century France.
She was also considered one of the three most famous figures in France in the 20th century, and was praised by the French Minister of Culture as a celebrity who could be ranked alongside De Gaulle and Picasso.
Turning a humble street shop into a later business empire, Chanel turned the impossible into possible step by step with her sensitive fashion sense of smell and sewing skills.
In the process, Chanel got the help of many rich people and military officers, so many people think that she worked hard as a mistress, which is difficult to completely deny.
In 1883, a poor unmarried couple in Saumur, France, welcomed their second child and named her Gabriel Chanel.
Chanel's mother, a shepherd from the Auvergne Mountains, was working in a slum when she was born, while her father was a grocery vendor from The Seven Hills who sold goods on the streets on a daily basis.
With such a life, Chanel's growth path is destined to be full of twists and turns.
Chanel's understanding of the opposite sex first came from her father. However, this father did not play a good example.
Chanel was two years old when her father gave her mother a shabby and dilapidated wedding, and after the marriage, he did not bring anything substantive to the family, but because of her unruly bad temper, her mother washed her face with tears all day long.
All this left an extremely painful memory for the young Chanel at that time, and because of this, from that time on, men became inseparable from the "flow" and "unreliability" in her eyes. In the endless years to come, her distrust of men was well documented.
When Chanel was six years old, her mother died of grief and her father abandoned her as quickly as she expected, and disappeared.
Chanel was left in the monastery and completely lost her expectations for her father and her family. After her heart gradually cooled, "indifference" and "strength" became her arms against herself.
Chanel realized that she could only rely on herself, and only when she became stronger could she control her life. Therefore, everything that can be used and learned, she will force herself to use and learn.
In the dull life of the monastery, she practiced needlework and won the opportunity to work in a tailor's shop. However, such a part-time job did not bring about a big change in her life.
As she got older, Chanel began to use her excellent appearance and voice to enter the coffee shop as a singer. It was this experience that completely changed her life.
Since entering the café to sell songs, Chanel's exquisite appearance inherited from her parents has brought greater traffic to the coffee shop, and it is during this time that she has met a British industrialist and a wealthy military officer, both of whom have shown great interest in her.
In that era of "aristocrats do not go to work, women do not stand on their own", Chanel is deeply bound by gender and identity, and has almost no opportunity to climb out of the bottom and go to the top by her own strength.
Therefore, becoming the mistress of a famous, rich, and powerful man became the only way for her to change her destiny.
Although there are big trees to lean on, Chanel still maintains her sanity, she knows that the "favor" of the gold lords is illusory and can be withdrawn at any time, so she trusts the money and interests that are actually in hand.
A women's hat shop of her own is the first thing she wants to come after she commits herself to being a mistress to others, which is the key to her future survival.
After having her own shop, Chanel used the identity, status and resources of the financiers to frequently visit banquets attended by the upper class, and adjusted her design concept by studying and studying their outfits and accessories.
Fortunately, she did have great talent and vision in this regard, and later, her pieces caused a huge response in the Parisian fashion circle, and the brands she painstakingly managed became famous.
As the business empire expanded, Chanel's situation also began to change. If she was only regarded as a "plaything" of Israeli waiters before, then at this time she began to be squarely regarded as a gifted designer.
Chanel was no longer willing to endure the pain of being a mistress of others, and as she grew stronger, she took the initiative and simply turned away from them with her disgust for the "dark years" of the past, no longer willing to associate with them.
After the development of Chanel, it is far more attractive than before. There are always men around her who come and go, and many men stop for her looks, for her talents, for her money. However, Chanel, although she would have sex with some of them when she was in a mood, was also very crisp when she withdrew.
In these feelings, Chanel always dominated. She came and went as she pleased, only because she had never been merciless.
Chanel was well aware that some of the men who showed affection to her did not necessarily love her, but more of a pleasure and a sense of accomplishment in conquering a mature, beautiful woman, for whom Chanel never gave them the opportunity to "prove" their "ability".
As for those who are attracted to her talent and genuinely want to develop her as a soul mate, Chanel will also take the initiative to stay away.
Because she knew that these people would always have a mind that was firmly in control of her, but she was as uncontrollable as ever like a broken kite. Yearning for freedom, she is not willing to stop moving forward for anyone.
The lack of security since childhood has always left Chanel's heart with a hole that cannot be filled.
She is full of disappointment and fear of feelings and marriage, and she is more and more afraid to get close to real feelings and marriage. Therefore, despite the countless lovers in her life, despite her indulgence, Chanel never delivered her true heart.
In her old age, she sailed alone into an unknown distance like a sailboat that would never return to port.
Chanel died in a room at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on 10 January 1971, ending her legendary life.
There are countless lovers in a lifetime, but none of them can be entrusted for life, which is probably the arrangement of fate.