Chanel

by François Baudot, Grace Mirabella (Foreword)

The legendary Gabriel ("Coco") Chanel (1883-1971) is precisely that for the simple reason that her life and accomplishment - even her chronic failure in love - constitute one of the great stories of the modern age. Born into the French peasantry and then raised in a convent orphanage, Chanel grew up an authentic beauty with a gift for fashion, social trends, and business that enabled her literally to invent the look of the 20th century as well as its fragrance. She also had a profound effect upon both its art and culture, using her immense wealth, wit, and social access to support Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the plays of Jean Cocteau, the music of Igor Stravinsky, and the poems of Pierre Reverdy.
Bit by bit, this fearless young genius stripped women of their corsets and feathers, bobbed their hair as well as their skirts, put them in bathing suits, and sent them out to get tanned in the sun. She introduced slacks, dark-toed sling pumps, the "little black dress," quilted handbags, and the braid-trimmed, brass-buttoned two-piece suit that became her trademark. As for the fabulous costume jewelry, she piled it on mainly because of its power to make simplicity look glorious. Early in the 1920s Chanel launched the first couture perfume - No. 5 - bottled in the famous square-cut flacon, a Cubist-inspired Art Deco icon. She was the first haute-couture designer to work in ballet, theatre, and even film, beginning with a stint in Hollywood for Sam Goldwyn and moving on to Jean Renoir, Lucchino Visconti, and Alain Resnais.

Genres: Fashion, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical, France

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

François Baudot was a French journalist and author of several books on decorative art and fashion.

Reviews

[kat f. · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was {and still is} an amazing woman. She's such an inspiration. I'm so glad I found this book when I did, it's just what I needed to read. She didn't always have an easy life, but she didn't let her last determine her future, and that amazes me. She truly is an inspiration. Long live Chanel!

[Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, nicely illustrated but above all very succinct account of Coco Chanel's life from a very popular viewpoint, with no extra historical facts revealed. A very nice text to dive into the Chanel story before getting your hands into some heavier material.

[Your Favorite Person · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am very disappointed by the contrast of the sheer volumes people write about Chanel and the information all of them hold. All of the books are out of context quotes or generalized life stories. What am I supposed to get out of all of these?

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little read with lots of great photos of her and her designs.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro corto que resume la vida personal y profesional de Coco Chanel. Con ilustraciones geniales de Karl Lagerfeld y fotos, algunas difíciles de conseguir, de la diseñadora. También incluye una línea de tiempo bastante clara sobre su recorrido.

Para mi, que trabajo en moda hace muchos años y me he especializado en investigación de moda, se me hizo bastante simple y sesgado, como por ejemplo cuando el autor menciona que Chanel es quien cambió la relación con las clientas y en realidad fue Worth. Pero, en general, un libro interesante para añadir a una colección — tanto de especialistas como personas que recién se interesan por la historia de la moda.

[Thomas Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very friendly read.

[Faizah Roslaini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the photographs. This is a nice and simple introduction to the legendary designer.

[bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!