DALLY WINSTON ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN HOW TO

However, when he proposed to her, she declined, later declaring, “There are lots of Duchesses, but only one Coco Chanel.” Heartbroken by her rejection, the Duke had her initials (the house’s ‘CC’ logo) carved into every lamppost in Westminster.Īt the onset of WWII, Coco engaged in a tryst that would lead to the closure of her shops and the abrupt end – albeit, temporarily – of her fashion career. Shortly after, she began a decade-long relationship with Hugh Grosvenor, the second Duke of Westminster. A composer who had just reworked his The Rite of Spring, Coco frequented its new staging for the ballet in Paris.

In 1920, she had a brief fling with Igor Stravinsky. Known for using men to finance her ventures and preserve her independence, Coco had many other storied affairs following Capel’s death. Coco is quoted as saying, “Either I die as well, or I finish what we started together.” The great love of her life, she reportedly cried for the first and last time at his funeral. Around Christmas in 1919, Boy Capel died in a car accident on his way to see Coco. Coco designed the first pair of pants for women, for example, so she could more comfortably (rather than side saddle in a skirt) ride a horse. A prominent polo player, Capel financed the opening of two more boutiques in Deauville and Biarritz and influenced what would become the ‘Chanel look’ of androgynous silhouettes and stable-inspired detailing. They immediately started dating, continuing their relationship even after he married. Étienne Balsan, who was also a racehorse owner, introduced Coco to his friend Arthur “Boy” Capel. Coco caught her first lucky break when Gabrielle Dorziat, a famous French actress, became a fan of her hats and made them a must-have accessory for those in the Parisian upper class. Called Chanel Modes, it opened on 21 Rue Cambon in 1910. To better pass the time as his mistress, he helped Coco become a licensed milliner and funded her first shop, which exclusively sold hats. At the time, he was serving as an officer, but he was also heir to a textile empire. While she was singing in Moulins, a military station, Coco met Étienne Balsan. Love Affairs and the Start of Chanel Modes The crowd would request an encore by shouting, “Coco! Coco!”, giving her the now-famous nickname (she preferred to tell people that her father called her this as a child). While she was not a particularly gifted vocalist, she was known for performing “Ko Ko Ri Ko” and “Qui qu’a vu Coco dans l’Trocadéro?”. When Chanel turned 18, she left the orphanage for Moulins, working as a seamstress and cabaret singer to financially support herself.

DALLY WINSTON ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN HOW TO

It was here that she learned how to sew and formed her future design aesthetic (the stark black and white of the nuns’ habits, specifically, served as a major source of inspiration for her). As the lives of the poor were not well-documented at the time, not much else is known about Chanel’s early years.Īt the age of 12, when her mother died of tuberculosis, her father sent her two brothers to work on a farm and Chanel and her two sisters to live in a convent-run orphanage in Aubazine. Her father worked as a street peddler and her mother was a peasant. She was one of six children (though, one of her brothers sadly died as an infant) to Albert Chanel and Eugénie Jeanne Devolle. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, aka “Coco” Chanelīorn Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, the now-legendary designer came from very humble beginnings.

Dally winston archive of our own