Coco Chanel Research Paper

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was born August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France. At the age of six, her mother passed away and her father took leave, Chanel spent much of her early life in a convent. As Chanel grew up in the convent, she was taught to sew – a skill that would lead her life’s work. She had a brief career before she opened her first clothes shop in 1910. She led to becoming one of the most renowned fashion designer with her timeless designs, trademark suits and little black dresses.

How and why did Chanel start her own business?

Throughout Chanel’s time in the convent, she learnt the skills to become a seamstress, with the help of her fellow nuns. She was offered a job as a seamstress but rejected it to become a singer in a café. Although this did not provide her with the life she desired, she adopted her new nickname ‘Coco’. As she grew up, she was determined to overcome the poverty and make a name for herself. Chanel began considering what she was passionate about, this led on to become a

Balsan who financially supported Chanel, to open up her first shop in 1913, which specialised in hats and a limited line of garments. Her business caught the public’s attention and her shops quickly expanded.

What skills and/or characteristics does Coco Chanel possess helped lead to her success?

Coco Chanel was the most influential fashion designer of all time and can be seen as a true entrepreneur. She revolutionised the way women wore clothes and shaped a new era of fashion, capitalising on the altering times she was living in and her status as a fashion icon.

Chanel was seen to be a feminist of her time, redeeming women from the days of corsets and replacing ideal images of women with modern and casual looks. Although she passed away in 1971, her undeniable influence on fashion and women’s role in society will continue in the