Few names in the world of fashion are quite as iconic as hers.
However, despite the stratospheric success of Chanel’s brand, her personal life wasn’t always entirely happy.
Coco Chanel was born into poverty
Coco Chanel’s early years were anything but easy.
Her parents were unmarried when she was born.
There, Chanel struggled to accept the strict rules of the nuns who raised her.
Later, when Chanel’s fame grew, she seemed to resent her humble upbringing.
“I don’t like the family,” she once said (via The Telegraph).
“You’re born in it, not of it.
I don’t know anything more terrifying than the family.”
The bar was reportedly a hot spot for local soldiers.
Her two songs were “Ko Ko Ri Ko” and “Qui qu’a vu Coco?”
This is where she first got the name “Coco.”
Instead, she claimed that Coco was a nickname given to her by her father.
Once again, Chanel, it seems, was embarrassed about her true past.
When Chanel tried to leave Balsan to be with Capel, a dramatic scene ensued.
“We lunched and dined together, Etienne, Boy, and I,” Chanel later recalled.
“Occasionally Etienne talked about killing himself, and I wept.
‘You aren’t going to let Etienne kill himself,’ I said to myself.
‘You’ll set them both free.
Go throw yourself into the Seine!'”
(via The Telegraph).
Despite all the drama and anguish, the two men ultimately joined together to help Chanel open her shop.
5" on the"Innovation Hub"podcast.
Although Chanel’s clothing was high-end, her classic style was actually inspired by her impoverished upbringing.
It was dubbed the “genre pauvre,” or “the poor style.”
Her clothes were simple, understated, and surprisingly unflashy.
By using simple jersey fabric traditionally only seen in cheaper clothing, Chanel reinvented the very meaning of luxury.
Ultimately, she brought the notion of comfort into the fashion world.
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury,” she once said (viaBritannica).
“That was always her primary concern,” she said.
According to The Telegraph, Julia died by suicide when she discovered her husband’s infidelity.
Julia left behind a son, Andre, who had been born during Julia’s time in the convent.
His father was unknown.
Many believe that Capel was the greatest love of Chanel’s life, and his death hit her hard.
“I lost everything with the loss of Capel,” the designer later confessed (viaExpress).
It could have been all she needed to be happy."
She added, “She was really in love with him.”
Many years later, the Chanel brand also reportedly created the famous “Boy Bag” in his honor.
Along with her hugely popular fashion line andher iconic No.
5 perfume, Chanel also dipped her toe into the world of Hollywood costume design.
“I think that in engaging Mme.
Critics seemed to think that her designs weren’t exciting enough for the screen.
She “made a lady look like a lady.
While Chanel’s misfire with Hollywood may not be tragic, it was certainly not a career high point.
France was, of course, occupied by the Nazis for much of the war.
But this wasn’t necessarily true.
Over the years, Chanel’s questionable association with the Nazis during the war has come to light.
For one thing, Chanel was having an affair with a German throughout the war.
It is also believed that Chanel acted as a spy for a time.
Nevertheless, after the war she had to “flee France” because of her association with the Nazis.
“There is no question that she was anti-Semitic.
That’s clear that she was,” Mazzeo said.
Allegedly, Winston Churchill helped her get out of the country.
It was at this time that the famous Chanel suit was born.
According toBusiness of Fashion, she was largely shunned by the industry in France.
Lagerfeld even made a short film about the comeback.
However, she did find some success in America and Britain.
This was enough for the Chanel brand to continue on and become the success it still is today.
Since the 1920s, the Chanel brand had been owned by a family called the Wertheimers.
It all began when Pierre Wertheimer financed Chanel’s famous No.
However, Chanel never wrestled back control of her company.
Instead, she only managed to get 2% of worldwide sales.
Today, the Wertheimers remain fastidiously secretive about their role in Chanel.
“It’s about Coco Chanel.
It’s about Karl.
It’s about everyone who works and creates at Chanel.
By all accounts, at the end of her life, she was lonely.
“Her end was very gentle.
However, it seems that Chanel might have sensed her life was almost over.
Chanel’s last words were to her maid, Celine.
“You see, this is how you die,” the designer reportedly said (viaHello!
Chanel died before showing her final collection.
