Coco Chanel (born Gabrielle in Saumus, France) is one of the most influential fashion designers that ever lived. Famous for her rendition of the “little black dress†(think Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’sâ€) and stylish suits worn famously by Jackie Kennedy in the 1960’s, Coco revolutionized the fashion world for women. As she once said: “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.†She knew how to dress a woman for style, class, simplicity and comfort. Her early years, however, were anything but glamorous. After her mother’s death, Chanel was put in an orphanage by her father who worked as a peddler. She was raised by nuns who taught her how to sew—a skill that would lead to her life’s work. Given her coquettish beauty, she attracted a couple wealthy men who were instrumental in getting her millinery business off the ground in Paris (she started by selling hats). It was quite by happenstance that she entered the apparel designing world when people began asking her about the dresses she herself was wearing. In the 1920’s, Coco created her first perfume (Chanel No. 5) which she called the ultimate accessory: “that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.†Never married, she had many romances throughout her life with many powerful and wealthy men. She once explained her nickname, Coco (which she received in the twenties): “a shortened version of cocotte, the French word for ‘kept woman.’†Her legacy remains her timeless and beautiful fashions.
