Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel

When someone says "Chanel," most people think about the upper-class fashion brand with its classy and elegant design. Behind Chanel, there is one woman whose creativity and courage built this.

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur. But she claimed a birthdate of 1893 and a birthplace of Auvergne. Her mother worked in the poorhouse where Gabrielle was born, and died when Gabrielle was only six, leaving her father with five children whom he promptly abandoned to the care of relatives.

Coco was raised in a French orphanage. The simple dress of the nuns and their environment influenced her designs. For example, the little black dress, suits, and boyish designs.

In 1912, she met the wealthy socialite, Arthur "Boy" Capel, who helped her open her first hat shop in 1913. Actually, she wasn’t part of the "upper-class," but with the financial help and connections from Capel, her shop kept increasing and expanding. Her real break came in the early 1920s during the Great Depression when Chanel, with the financial help of Capel, opened her first and now legendary shop at 31 Rue Cambon. She opened two boutiques: one in Paris and the other in Biarritz. Together these shops employed more than 300 people. During this period, Chanel created her world-renowned No 5 fragrance.

In 1931, Chanel was hired by Samuel Goldwin for $1 million to dress his stars, including Katharine Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Gloria Swanson. Based on Chanel's fabulous life was the 1969 Broadway musical "Coco," starring Hepburm. By the mid 40s, Chanel briefly served as a nurse in World War I. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years. Chanel's affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland.

Coco Chanel is my hero because she bravely made a revolution in women’s clothing. She replaced tight corsets, which became popular in last decades, with comfortable yet sexy, timeless designs. She was also a very hardworking and independent woman. She raised her label from zero to hero! And despite the fact that she was so famous with an expanding business, she kindly became a nurse and sacrificed her work to help other people. Even though she lived in the Hollywood community, she was a very down-to-Earth woman. I hope I can be like her!