Gabrielle Coco ChanelThe first and most successful international business woman

of the 20th century

Biography

• Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in 1883 in French village of Saumur.

• Couldn’t afford the fashionable clothes of the period so she rejected them and made her own.

• Chanel was shaped by the nuns who raised her at Aubazine where she learned to sew.

• Wanted to be independent and for her clothes to represent that as well.

• Opened her first shop, a millinery, in Paris in 1909• Chanel No. 5 was launched in 1923

– Marketed as “A very improper perfume for nicely brought-up ladies”

Biography

• Opened her second couture house in Paris in 1924.

• In 1939 she shut down her fashion business. Chanel was a nurse during WWII and began a love affair with a Nazi officer.

• Entangled in complicated relationships with a number of wealthy men.

• Almost married one of the richest men in Europe, the Duke of Westminster

• By 1954 CoCo launches a successful comeback before her death January 10th 1971 in Paris.

Fashion and Industry

• Elegant hats• Camellia’s jewelry• First World War- military

colors and references emerged

• In 1920-1929- women’s fashion had emerged towards what became known in France as the “Garçonnelook” = “Female Dandy”

• For the first time in the fashion history dress length was shortened

Fashion and Industry"A woman wearing black draws attention to herself, not the dress."

• 1920- “The little black dress”• Chanel’s black dresses = the

mass produced model-T Ford motor car

• Large pearl stud earrings and trade mark pearls in multiple stings

• Chanel was the first to make the fake jewelry acceptable among a clientele who could afford and already owned priceless jewels.

• 1932-she started to design diamond jewelry.

Fashion and Industry“A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”

Coco Chanel

• 1921- Her first Perfume Chanel No.5• Note: the simplicity of the bottle, and its relatively

unchanged form since its creation in 1921 till today• 1941- American market crucial for Chanel perfume sales• 1950- Sales are down• 1952- Sales soared. WHY?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6AtDQZ8K28

Fashion and Industry

• The Chanel Suit

The outfit was the perfect choice for the post-war woman who was trying to build a career in the male-dominated workplace. The suit was favored by celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, and Jackie Kennedy

Fashion and Industry

• 1955- Iconic quilted handbag was introduced

• Chanel named the bag 2.55

• 1970 a new fragrance, Chanel No.19 was launched for the younger woman.

• Principal ingredient was extract of iris.

• The last collection that Chanel worked on was for spring/summer 1971.

Influential Traits

"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable."- Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

• Tenacious• Confident and truly believed in herself• Clear and empowering mission• Vision of where she wanted the fashion industry to go• Persuasive in a unique way• Innovative—LBD, hats, flowy clothing from typically men’s fabrics• Entrepreneur • Pioneer of the industry

1

Leadership Qualities

• Leading Change and Innovation– Wartime helped encourage change

• Power and Influence Tactics– If she had not been well respected by members of

the upper-class they may not have considered her ideas

– Lead by example

• Charisma and unconventional behavior

• Dark side of charisma

Positive Influences

• Boy Chapel

• WWI helped propel her ideas because women liked the idea that they were supposed to dress for themselves instead of the men

• End of the war

• Became a member of the in crowd with her legendary changes and she befriended Stravinsky, Picasso and other members of the elite Paris crowd

Controversial Aspects of her Leadership

• Extremely confident-some say arrogant and rude

• Exploited Opportunities

• Intolerant and Autocratic, generated fear among her staff for her bad-tempered outbursts

– Marie-Loise Deray, who started to work for Chanel in 1915, asked for a pay rise in 1925 and was promptly fired (she did not emancipate her staff financially or champion their rights)

Ethnic Influences

• Chanel's influence with no doubt strengthened the liberation of women

• Chanel challenged both the status quo for fashion and for women's roles in society

• Chanel's fashions not only changed the way women looked on the outside, but they also changed the way women looked at themselves

• Slav Inspired Designs• Russian muzhiks (peasant) attire known as the roubachka.

• The horse culture and penchant for hunting • nautical pursuits

– all traditionally worn by sailors and fishermen

Legacy as a Designer

• Her design aesthetic redefined the fashionable woman for the post WWI era.– The Chanel trademark was a look of youthful ease, a

liberated physicality, and unencumbered sportive confidence.

• Chanel's own look itself was as different and new as her creations

• her undeniable influence on fashion and women’s role in society has and will continue for many years in the future.

Chanel Today“Maybe what I’ve done would have killed her, but without me, she would be dead.” -Karl

Lagerfeld

• 1983- Karl Lagerfeld become Chanel’s designer

• Chanel is Luxury Daily’s 2013 Luxury Marketer of the Year

• Offers: high quality product + emotional experience.

• Competitors: Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton

• There are 310 boutiques worldwide

Summary

• The world-famous fashion dictator who tells the duchesses and countesses and queens of Europe what to wear.

• Iconic leader • Inspirational figure in the industry

'Dress badly,' she once said, 'and people will notice the dress. Dress well and people will notice the woman.'

'Fashion is not just about dresses; fashion is something in the air. Fashion is in the sky, the street. Fashion is about ideas,

the way we live, what is happening.' Coco Chanel

Bibliography

• http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197624• http://www.babyblog.ru/community/post/english/1694121• http://www.motivatedsista.com/2010/01/29/9-reasons-coco-

chanel-is-my-she-ro/• http://astrumpeople.com/coco-chanel-biography-woman-who-

changed-world-of-fashion/• http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e64fe

040-2ffd-49cd-845a-897c509a68d2%40sessionmgr4002&vid=2&hid=4103

• http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=7c28a052-4d51-4877-b0d6-4608d6db1b42%40sessionmgr198&vid=1&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=655915