The Style Empire of Coco Chanel - Literature review Example

The following is story of Coco Chanel, paying particular attention to just how she was able to build her style empire. The first portion is the introduction, and concentrates on the movie, Coco Avant Chanel. The second part is the details of how Coco built her empire, with information taken from various books about her life, especially a biography written by Axel Madsen entitled Chanel: A Woman of her Own. The conclusion wraps it up with statements about how Chanel was able to use unerring instincts and opportunity to rise from the status of orphan to a style maven that is world-renowned even today, over one hundred years after Chanel got her start selling hats. INTRODUCTION Coco Chanel was a pioneering style maven who was born in the 1890s, and was apparently orphaned at a young age. The movie Coco Avant Chanel begins with young Gabrielle arriving at the orphanage, although it was later made clear that Coco was not actually an orphan, but that her father left the family when she was young and never returned. (Coco Avant Chanel, 2009). Perhaps it was this unusual early childhood that inspired Chanel’s iconoclastic personal style that was so completely different from the prevailing style at the turn of the century. It probably was also a basis for Chanel’s strong sense of independence, and her ability to make her fortune in a male-dominated society. Chanel was different from all other women during this time, for she not only was not satisfied with the lot bestowed upon women, but she also did not dress the part. This was a period of time when society women were in invariably in corsets, high boots and large hats with feathers. In contrast, Chanel opted for comfort, simplicity and clean lines. While other women wore corsets and frilly dresses, Chanel dressed in menswear, simple dresses with no corsets, low-heeled shoes and unadorned hats. (Coco Avant Chanel, 2009) Chanel saw that the fashion of the day was not comfortable for women, nor practical. At first, it seemed as if Chanel simply rebelled against the societal restrictions, in that she chose to wear men’s wear and comfortable clothes, while the rest of the women went about their day in fashions that were no doubt impossibly hot and uncomfortable. She did not necessarily aim to change societal fashion. She just did not go along with it. She was her own person in a society where individualism was not necessarily admired. While it might not have been her aim to change society, this is exactly what she did, with the guidance, encouragement and financial backing of Capel. (Coco Avant Chanel, 2009). It is apparent that every generation needs a visionary who will lead the way into a new way of thinking. This is true in fashion and in every other facet of life. Society needs pioneers to propel it forward. Chanel was a necessary catalyst to move society away from the prevailing fashions and into a new generation, where overdone concoctions that represented a stifling of the feminine spirit under petticoats and corsets gave way to fashions that are elegant in their simplicity and represented a kind of feminine liberation. Chanel also was a shrewd businesswoman with impeccable instincts, traits that helped her build a veritable empire. The story of Chanel, how a French orphan became a woman who is arguably the most famous and influential designer in history, is one of a woman of unerring instincts for fashion and business, who was able to use every opportunity that was presented to her, and who was, above all, a woman of her own. HOW CHANEL BUILT HER EMPIRE The irony of Coco Chanels rise as an independent woman of self-made wealth is that she really owed her entire empire to men - namely Etienne Balsan and Arthur “Boy” Capel. Etienne Balsan was a French textile heir and playboy who took a liking to the young Chanel when she worked as a chanteuse. (Madsen, 1990, p. 31). Alternate stories had Chanel meeting Balsan when Chanel worked as a tailors assistant. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 8). Chanel soon became a kept woman to Balsan, and this is what introduced her to high French society, where she made her important societal contacts. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 8). Without Balsan, or a similar benefactor, Chanels life might have been very different. It is arguable that Chanel could have never made the contacts that she did through her liaison with Balsan, therefore it would have been impossible for her to have the career trajectory that she did. Perhaps this is just an early example of the powerful instincts that propelled Chanel to the top – she realized that, to realize her ambition to rise above her humble roots, she would have to find a rich benefactor and she saw this in Balsan. Nevertheless, although Balsan clearly gave Chanel the opportunity, it was Chanel herself who capitalized upon it. And Chanel had impeccable timing. Around the time that Chanel was dallying with Balsan, there was an emerging trend in society at large – a “new woman” was emerging. Known as a “Claudine”, the new woman a woman who was “younger and freer in style and morals, a woman who knew a lot more than Victorian strictures assumed she knew, a woman who in fashion would soon dethrone the rustle of lace and silk and huge millinery constructs that passed for hats.” (Madsen, 1990, p. 35). In other words, the turn of the century Victorian woman, corseted, uncomfortable and constrained, was giving way to a new generation of woman. The vestiges of the Victorian woman, the so-called “diamond scruncher” was still reported on and in vogue, but was fading. Henri Matisse and Kees van Dongen was heralding the advancement of the Claudines, the new woman, and this was the trend that was on the rise. (Madsen, 1990, p. 36). Chanel was a “new woman,” if only unconsciously at first. She expressed her new woman attitude in her clothes, right from the first. “If cocottes overdressed, she made sure she looked like a schoolgirl. If ladies at the grandstand at Longchamp came in feather hats and skirts that swept the grass, she was at the racetrack in strict tailor-made and boater. If Dorziat came to the stables dressed in bias-cut to ride sidesaddle, Gabrielle swung onto her horse wearing riding britches.” (Madsen, 1990, p. 36). Chanel was modern while old fashioned was still the norm in high society. She was a Claudine before the movement really took root, therefore she led the trend instead of following it. Chanel was soon capitalizing on her austere fashion sense when her friend, and another of Balsans former concubines, Emilienne dAlencon, dated a famous jockey, Alec Carter, and dAlencon followed Carters races wearing one of Chanels hats. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 10). The attention that Chanel received by dAlencon wearing her creations soon led Chanel to have the courage to leave Balsan and his lazy life of luxury and set out to open her own shop. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 10). Chanel had a way with decorating hats, and they gave her attention - “At the racetracks, where enormous, florid bonnets were de riguer, she was a sensation wearing one of her own confections.” (Madsen, 1990, p. 47). Soon, more of Etiennes well-heeled friends were taking notice of Chanels talent in decorating hats. Chanel was bored with Etiennes lifestyle, wanted something more, something of her own and a hat shop seemed just the ticket. Even though Etienne tried to humor her, and considered bank-rolling her venture, he thought better of it, although Chanel was able to use his Parisian apartment. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 10). Besides, Chanel did not need Etiennes money to bankroll her little hat shop – Arthur “Boy” Capel did. Capel was a self-made millionaire, due to coal-mines and shipping, and was a friend to Balsan. (De La Haye & Tobin, 1994, p. 9). To be fair to Chanel, she really did love Boy, although it appeared that she was merely using Balsan. So, it wasnt case of total opportunism, although an opportunity it still was. Chanel opened up her hat shop in Paris, using Boys money and living in Balsans apartment, and her first clients were former mistresses of Balsan. (Madsen, 1990, p. 54). Still, it was her talent that made the little hat shop work. It was also her steel will. In the early days of the hat shop, Chanels hat shop did not make money and Boys deposited securities was the reason why her overdrafts were allowed. This was unbeknownst to Chanel, and, when she discovered this, Chanel pursued the business end of her shop with a renewed vengeance - “The next day she let her assistant know that she was not there to have fun. Im here to make a fortune. Henceforth, nobody spends a centime without my permission.” (Madsen, 1990. p. 57). In 1913, Chanel turned to simplifying womens wardrobes, as she did with the hats. Just as the hats was Chanels answer to the “fruit bowls that passed for hats,” (Madsen, 1990, p. 68), Chanel aimed to do the same simplifying for womens attire. Once again, Chanel was in the right place at the right time. Her line of turtleneck sweaters, knits, flannel and other ready to wear clothes was introduced at a time when these fashions were new, yet ready to be accepted by society. By 1915, Chanel had opened Biarritzs first fashion house. Working with jersey material, a material that had never before been used in dresses, Chanel soon had 60 seamstresses. Once again, Chanel was able to capitalize on a stroke of good luck to add to her business acumen – Chanel bought a huge stock of the fabric from Jean Rodier, a fabric manufacturer, because Rodier was trying to unload it for fear that he could not find a buyer. (Madsen, 1990, p. 80). As Chanel was able to buy the material at a deep discount, this material is what she used to create her fashions. This was another example of Chanels shrewd business mind meeting opportunity to make magic. The Biarritz effort was so successful that Chanel was able to attain financial independence from Boy and pay off her debts. (Koda & Bolton, 2005, p. 19). Yet another fortuitous event for Chanel was the advent of World War I. Chanels oversized jackets, sailors blouses and straight linen skirts were perfect for women in flight who were volunteering at hospitals. (Madsen, 1990, p. 74). Women were now driving ambulance, working at canteens, nursing war casualties, typing letters, driving trains and shoveling explosives in munitions factories. The edict was that women needed to consume less fabric as part of the war effort, and Chanels fashions were perfect for this. Another opportunity availed itself when the bleak winter of 1917-1918 necessitated that women keep warm by wearing fur. Chanel was able to supply pelts to trim her jersey costumes, and this was making her a fortune. (Madsen, 1990, p. 90). Chanel had created functional chic, which was exactly what the world needed at this time. (Madsen, 1990, p. 97). Ever the opportunist, Chanel soon rose through the ranks. The 1920s is when Chanel really made her mark, as the pre-war fashions were completely obliterated, along with the pre-war mores. Everything about the pre-war generation was disdained by the young, as “sports and physical acrtivity firmed the feminine ideal, sunbathing changed skin tones, the taste for faster living modified elegance, as discriminating languor gave way to litheness and affected primness yielded to energetic directness. Serpentine slimness replaced Rubenesque fullness, and the new feminine ideal was flexible and tubular, like a section of boa constrictor.” (Madsen, 1990, pl. 116). Women were coming into their own, experiencing a new independence and rebelliousness, and Chanel was right at the center of this new trend, a trend that was described in the 1922 Victor Margueritte novel Le Garconne, which “gave a name to the emancipated lifestyle and masculinized appearance of the post-war new woman, whose close-cropped hair, straight silhouette, and knee-length hems signaled the desire, particularly widespread among young women, for a level of autonomy and social access that had previously been accorded to men.” (Koda & Bolton, 2005, p. 20). Chanel was always able to come up with the clothes that women wanted. By 1923, the House of Chanel employed nearly three thousand people. (Madsen, 1990, p. 129). Chanel was also all about strategy when selling new items. For instance, her world renowned perfume, Chanel No. 5 got its start when salesgirls atomized the fitting rooms with its scent, prompting her clients to ask her where they could buy the perfume. Chanel pretended to be surprised to be asked this question, and pretended that she had no interest in selling perfume, but that she would get the perfume for her friends. When the “friends” told her that she should get into perfume, Chanel pretended to think this over and later on told her “friends” that she was going to do this, after all. By the time Chanel actually got into the perfume business, there was so much pent-up demand from the clients who smelled the perfume in the dressing room that the success of the perfume was beyond anything that Chanel imagined. (Madsen, 1990, p. 135). Chanel was also tight-fisted with her business money. She refused to pay her models more than f200 a month, the equivalent to about $600 in todays money, and dismissed a long-time employee when she asked for fifty-franc raise after ten years of working for Chanel. (Madsen, 1990, p. 160). She was also “suspicious and hard as nails in any negotiation.” (Madsen, 1990, p. 162). Wily Chanel even managed to survive the great stock market crash of 1929, when Hollywood beckoned. Samuel Goldwyn hired Chanel as his costume designers for a million dollars a year, and, although Chanel only lasted in Hollywood two years, the money she made in these two years was enough to keep her empire afloat during the lean times ahead. (Madsen, 1990, pp. 187-195). Hollywood was just one more example of Chanels opportunism bolstering her fortunes, for, while her rivals were losing their couture houses because of the depression, Chanels two years of making a million a year provided her with the cushion that kept her empire going. (Madsen, 1990, p. 195). In fact, her business expanded during the depression – by 1935, the House of Chanel employed 4,000 workers. (De La Haye and Tobin, 1994, p. 59). However, Chanel closed her couture house in 1939, but came back with a vengeance in 1954, in which she introduced her classic lines to a new generation, once again capitalizing on a trend towards simplicity, as “the new jeans and sweater trend was all the rage on the streets.” (Bott, 2007, p. 28). Although Chanel died in 1971, her couture house, overseen by Karl Lagerfeld, “has extended even further, becoming the latest logo coveted and worshiped by teenagers and hip-hop celebrities alike.” (Koda & Bolton, 2005, p. 29). CONCLUSION Coco Chanels empire was built on opportunism and instinct. Chanel was able to turn a job as a chanteuse, or at a tailor, depending upon whose version of the tale one is to believe, into a meeting with a wealthy playboy who took a liking to her. Chanel was able to turn this opportunity into a further opportunity to meet the rich and famous who would become her clients. Her love affair with Boy Capel was another opportunity, one in which was she able to get financing to open up her own shop. Rodiers need to unload tons of jersey fabric presented an opportunity for Chanel to make fashionable clothing for less price. World War Is climate was the biggest opportunity of all, as women needed more casual clothes for the work that they were doing. The climate of the 1920s, with the young girls emphasis on boyish attire was perfect for Chanels fashions. In the 1930s, when the rest of the couture houses were having trouble because of the recession, Chanel had the opportunity to design for Hollywood, making $2 million in the process, and this opportunity helped Chanel survive the depression and thrive. Along with opportunity was instinct. Chanel just knew, instinctively, of trends before they began. The masculine looks of the 1920s tomboys was presaged by Chanel, who wore these fashions while everybody else was wearing bustles, corsets and enormous hats. She instinctively knew if a hat was right for a woman, and knew just how to fix it if it were not. She also knew that World War I would bring a need for her casual fashions. Furthermore, she was able to come back after closing her couture house for over a decade, using the same instincts that served her well earlier. She stuck to her classic designs, not trying to be modern, and this is what worked the second time around as well. Chanel was a woman who changed the world, through opportunity, talent and unerring instincts. SOURCES USED Bott, D. (2007). Chanel: Collections and Creations. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, Inc. Coco Avant Chanel. (2009). Film. Directed by Anne Fontaine. France: Haut et Court. De La Haye, A. & Tobin, S. (1994). Chanel: The Couturier at Work. New York, NY: The Overlook Press. Koda, H. & Bolton, A. (2005). Chanel: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Madsen, A. (1990). Chanel: A Woman of Her Own. 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