Chanel

The Revolutionary Coco

Gabrielle Chanel, a strong and ambitious woman, overturned the women fashion, that was constrained within a rigid social pattern. Chanel the “modiste” didn’t belong to the Parisian aristocracy, nor to the high bourgeoisie, but she managed to make à la page the dressmakers and saleswomen’s dresses even for the rich ladies from Deauville. She was born on August 19th, 1883, in a small village in the South of France; Coco started out in the fashion industry in 1908, creating hats in Paris and later in Deauville. In the 10s, those cities plus Biarritz saw the opening of her first shops. During the Belle Epoque, women were constrained in rigid corsets and wore pleated, draped and reinforced dresses with petticoats. Furthermore, you have to consider that the taste of the time imposed an exotic and oriental appeal. It is not difficult to imagine how a fashion style aiming at overturning those rules was considered visionary and impudent at that time. In the same years, Paul Poiret and Mademoiselle Vionnet freed women from corselettes, while Paquin introduced a flowing shape and an Empire style waist.

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