Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel inspires me in so many ways with her humility, perseverance, and style.

At 12 years old, Coco Chanel began sewing at such a young age. After her mother passed away, her father abandoned her by placing her in an orphanage. Despite of the circumstance, she did not let the tragedy of her abandonment prohibit her from sewing.

In addition, "Coco" stems from her stage name as a singer. She performed in night clubs as a career until Chanel became involved with Etienne Balsan, who offered to help her start a millinery business in Paris. She soon left him for one of his wealthier friends, Arthur “Boy” Capel. Both men were benefactors in Chanel’s first fashion venture. Then, in 1910 Chanel opened her first shop on Paris’s Rue Cambon, Chanel started out selling hats. She later added stores in Deauville and Biarritz and began making clothes.

Coco Chanel once told author Paul Morand,“My fortune is built on that old jersey that I’d put on because it was cold in Deauville.”, which she fashioned a dress. Because the dress was so peculiar, women were fascinated and inquisitive. Therefore, Chanel offered to make one for them.

Chanel's designs boosted her popularity in Parisian literary and artistic worlds. She designed costumes for the Ballets Russes and Jean Cocteau’s play Orphée, and counted Cocteau and artist Pablo Picasso among her friends.

In the 1920s, Chanel took her lucrative business to new heights. She launched her first perfume, Chanel No. 5, which was the first to feature a designer’s name. Unfortunately, Chanel had to sue repeatedly to renegotiate her percentage in the company.

In 1925, Chanel became revolutionary. She introduced the Chanel suit with collarless jackets and well-fitted skirts. Her designs were revolutionary—utilizing elements of men’s wear and emphasizing comfort over the constraints of then-popular fashions. She implemented style and grace rather than confining garments.

In addition, 1920s revolutionary design was Chanel’s little black dress. She took a shade once associated with mourning and showed just how chic and trendy it could be for evening wear. And to this day, women all over the world wares black in fashion shows (backstage), retail, theater arts, and etc.

In the 1930s, The international economic depression had a negative impact on Chanel's company, but it was the outbreak of World War II that led her to close her business. She fired her workers and shut down her shops. After the war, Chanel left Paris, and moved to Switzerland in a sort of exile.

After the war ended, Chanel was faced with legal battles for being a Nazi spy. She was interrogated about her relationship with von Dincklage, but she was not charged as a collaborator. There were some conspiracies about her friend Winston Churchill working behind the scenes on Chanel’s behalf. While not officially charged, Chanel suffered in the court of public opinion. Some still viewed her relationship with a Nazi officer as a betrayal to her country. Chanel had to make a huge sacrifice, by agreeing with her adversaries to get the alias to help her reclaim her company.

At the age of 70, in the early 1950s, Chanel made a triumphant return to the fashion world. She first received negative reviews from critics, but her feminine and easy-fitting designs soon regained her popularity and fortune over shoppers around the world.

During the German occupation of France, Chanel got involved with a Nazi military officer, Hans Gunther von Dincklage. She got special permission to stay in her apartment at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, which also operated as German military headquarters.

Although Chanel faced major challenges in her life, that didn't stop her fashion empire. She was highly persistent. I not only admire her work, but I admire how humble she was during World War II. She was so humble that she agreed with her adversaries such as the allies to reestablish

her company. Although she developed a reputation as a Nazi spy, her resilience superseded her fashion empire to greater heights. Chanel's persistence, humility, and style will forever be legendary. Despite of this pandemic we are currently in, this motivates me to persevere in my fashion career.