Chanel from No.1 to No.5 – Mother of Modern Couture

Writer – Justin Howard @jthnomad

Fashion Designer – Coco Chanel @chanelofficial

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” – Coco Chanel

This is the story of a girl born in late 1800s, raised in an orphanage, who would one day become the Mother of Modern Couture; a girl known to the world over as “Coco.” As a fashion icon, most of Coco’s life is shrouded in mystery, yet here are some commonly agreed upon elements.

From Orphan to Couture Entrepreneur

Legally known as Gabrielle Chanel, she was born in Southern France to a family that later abandoned her to be raised by nuns in a local orphanage. Some say it was the nuns at the orphanage who first caught onto her talent for fashion, because as soon as she turned 18 they placed her at The House of Grampayre, a local clothing shop.

Threading the Needle

It was during the early days at the House of Grampayre that Coco developed her knowledge of how clothing should fit an individual. The shop soon had her doing all its customers’ alterations, earning her a steady stream of clients who came only to her for their tailoring needs.

True to her later reputation of never being satisfied, she entered into the glamorous world of being a night club singer. It was in this glittering world filled with cigarette smoke that she developed her taste for powerful men and her trademark name “Coco.” Coco came into being from a French jazz song she would sing about a girl who lost her dog, Coco.

Here Come the Men

Throughout her life, Coco seemed to have an instinct for finding male companions who would take care of her. She developed a relationship which allowed her to open a boutique in Paris. This male companion was an English Industrialist who bankrolled her operation and provided her with access to the wealthy Parisian women who became her main

The ’20s in Paris

When the roaring ’20s came to Paris, they did so in a huge way. Women who had long been limited to the careers of housewife and homemaker were entering the workforce en masse.

All this was observed by Coco, who introduced the earliest version of her trademark style, a woman’s suit. This earlier version of Coco’s woman’s suit included a simple cardigan jacket, skirt and shirt, all revolving around her design of organic lines that fitted the individual’s body in dark natural color shades of grey, charcoal and navy. Coco is responsible for introducing the traditionally men’s fabric of wool into women’s wear.

Chanel Defined

What truly defines a 1920’s Chanel suit are the couture fashion elements of hand-sewing, high-end fabrics and its clean drop line cut applied with a practical eye. Coco had a deep understanding of how people really wore clothing from her days of doing alterations. With this knowledge, Coco introduced key designs that are still being used by women’s designers today.

Starting with her iconic jacket, Coco made hers collarless in lighter fabrics, patterned after men’s cardigan sweaters. Golden chains were added to feminize the design, and act as weights for the light fabric, helping it to lie against one’s body in a flattering way.

The Chanel skirt was a progressive design for its day as its cut boldly showed off a woman’s ankle. Coco added side zippers to allow women the freedom of getting in and out of the skirt with ease. With a unique understanding that the average woman moved quite a bit throughout the day, the skirt was designed to not crease or pull.

With an eye for details, Coco was the first to introduce design features that are normal for today’s suits; details like a fabric lining for the inside of the suit and bottom trimming that brought the suit skirt and jacket together in a seamless manner.

The Couture Effect

As all Coco’s creations were hand-sewn, it was only the wealthiest of women that could afford the original Chanel suit. A client had to not only pay for the cost of the suit, but for the seven fittings it took to create it. But as with most things only a few can have, the public went wild over her designs and couldn’t get enough of them.

Saved by Life

When the Nazis invaded Paris during the 1940s and began the infamous Nazi Occupation, all of Coco’s success came to a halt, as did everything else in the fashion world of Paris. Following her life-long instinct of finding a male companion who could take care of her, Coco unwisely started an affair with a Nazi officer. It was this affair which later came back to haunt her, as it very nearly destroyed her image in France and sales stopped as a result.

An editor from Life magazine had visited Paris in the years following World War II, and was introduced to the Chanel Suit. It was this introduction that saved Coco, for Life ran a large feature in the 1950s raving about the comfort and grace of a Chanel Suit. The rest, as they say, is history, for in the years following French Vogue had a Chanel Suit on its cover. Even Broadway got involved in the Chanel craze when in the 1960s Katherine Hepburn played Coco in the musical Coco to sold-out audiences. In the years that followed, Coco introduced such fashion-forward designs into women’s wear like bell bottoms and pea coats.

Chanel No.5

By the time of her death in the 1970s, Coco left a legacy that is still alive and thriving under the leadership of designer Karl Lagerfeld. The Chanel Suit is a still fashion must-have almost a century later, with the average genuine Chanel suit going for $4,000.

Fun Facts About Chanel

The ever classic Chanel No.5 perfume was the first perfume to be created by a fashion designer. The story is that it was the fifth scent she tested.
In 1926, Chanel created the famous “little black dress,” changing women’s fashion forever.