On this day, 50 years ago, on January 10, 1971 (December 14, 1970 in the lunar calendar), the famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel passed away.
She rose to fame in the 20s, had a lasting and powerful influence on the style of fashion, and is considered the queen of the world fashion industry. Many elegant women's clothing is designed by her.
Childhood memories
Chanel was born in 1883, the second child of a poor unmarried French couple. Her father was a grocer from Mount Severn and her mother was a shepherd daughter from Mount Auvergne. It is said that Chanel was born in Saumur, France; Another version is that he was born in Auvergne, a mountain in southern France. In fact, there have always been many legends about her life, and Chanel's efforts to avoid and cover up until her death have cast a fog over her origins. Chanel's childhood was unfortunate. Her mother died when she was twelve years old, and her father left her and her four siblings. Since then, she has been raised by her aunt and attended convent school as a child, where she learned needlework.
The road to fame
At the age of twenty-two, in 1905, she became a "Cafesinger" and took the stage name "Coco" and sang in different cabarets and cafes. During this career as a singer, Coco befriended two old patrons and became their lover confidants, one was a British industrialist and the other was a wealthy military officer. Making friends with dignitaries gave Coco the financial means to open his own shop. In 1910, Coco opened a millineryshop in Paris, using extraordinary needlework skills to sew one simple and attractive hat after another. Two of her confidants introduced her to many celebrity guests. The ladies were tired of the fancy trims, so Chanel's simple, comfortable hat was as cool as a sweet spring for them. Within a year, business was on the rise, and Coco moved her shop to the more fashionable Rue Cambon, which is still home to Chanel's headquarters. Making hats didn't satisfy Coco's fashion ambitions, so she ventured into haute couture.
In the twenties, Chanel designed innovative styles such as tricotsailordress, ittleblackdress, and bottle neck pullovers. Moreover, Coco took inspiration from men's clothing and added a little more male flavor to women's clothing, changing the overly showy fashion of women's clothing in those years. For example, Blazer was added to the women's collection, and women's pants were introduced. Don't forget that in the twenties women only wore skirts. Coco's series of creations revolutionized the history of modern fashion. Coco's unique insight into fashion aesthetics and rare talent led her to befriend poets, painters and intellectuals. Among her friends were Picasso, a master of abstract painting, and a French poet and director Jean. Jean Cocteau and so on. At this time, it was the golden age of French fashion and art development. In 1914, Coco opened two fashion houses, and the influential fashion brand Chanel was officially born.