Chanel

CHANEL is a fashion luxury brand originating from Paris, France . It is well-known for its haute couture, ready-to-wear, perfumes, accessories and other products. It was founded by fashion designer Gabrielle Chanel in 1910. CHANEL initially produced fashion and perfumes. In 1929, it launched its first shoulder bag, laying the foundation for the later classic "2.55 handbag" .

· Brand History ·

Gabrielle Chanel (1883-1971) was born in Saumur , France. Her mother died of illness and she was abandoned by her father when she was young. She was forced to live in an orphanage, where she learned to sew. She left the orphanage at the age of 18 and worked as a tailor while singing in a cafe. The nickname "Coco" is said to come from the two songs she sang, "Ko Ko Ri Ko" and "Qui qu'a vu Coco".

At the age of 26, Coco met polo player Arthur Boy Capel and became his lover. With his financial support, she founded the "CHANEL Modes" brand in 1910, and successively opened a women's hat shop, a sportswear shop and a fashion shop. She boldly incorporated men's clothing elements into women's fashion design, which set off a modern revolution in women's fashion and instantly became a household name in France.

The CHANEL brand settled in 31 Rue Cambon , one of the most prosperous streets in Paris, in 1918 , and continued to expand until 1927, when it became the current CHANEL global headquarters . During this period , the success of the "CHANEL No.5" perfume gave Coco the idea of starting a perfume company, and she partnered with French industrialist Pierre Wertheimer to establish Parfums CHANEL .

In the 1920s, women could only carry handbags with their hands, which was extremely inconvenient for Coco. To solve this problem, she introduced the shoulder straps of soldiers' backpacks into the design of women's bags and launched the first shoulder bag in 1929, which changed the history of women's handbags. This handbag not only uses a strong and lightweight metal chain as a shoulder strap , but also adds a flap design to cover the items in the bag and prevent them from falling out.

With the Great Depression and World War II, all brands in the fashion industry found it difficult to continue operating, and Coco officially closed her store in 1939. After the war, she gradually became tired of the fashion trends of the time, so she sought funding from Pierre Wertheimer again and reopened the store in 1954 , when she was 71 years old.

After her return, Coco quickly began to improve the shoulder bag and launched the "2.55 Flap Bag". "2.55" refers to the birth time of the handbag - February 1955. At that time, she decided to incorporate her childhood memories and interest in equestrian sports into the design: the metal double chain shoulder strap was inspired by the belt chain worn by the orphanage caregivers; the lining of maroon leather represents the red uniforms of the orphanage; the external diamond quilting pattern is taken from the jacket of the equestrian athlete.

There is a zippered compartment on the inside of the flap of the "2.55 handbag", where Coco kept her love letters. The square buckle on the front of the flap is called the "Mademoiselle Lock" , which means that Coco Chanel never married. There is also a clip pocket on the back of the handbag , which Coco used to store change.

On January 10, 1971, Coco Chanel died at the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the age of 87 ; Alain Wertheimer, grandson of Pierre Wertheimer, took control of the company and became the current owner. In the 1970s, CHANEL continued to expand its business, not only launching its first ready-to-wear product line , but also further promoting its accessories series worldwide .

Karl Lagerfeld, the current artistic director of CHANEL , has been in office since 1983. In the mid-1980s, he reinterpreted Coco Chanel's shoulder bag design and launched the "Classic Flap" series. This handbag was slightly modified based on the original, replacing the full metal chain with a metal leather braided chain, and changing the square buckle to a double C logo lock. Today, the metal leather braid and the double C logo have become the iconic elements of CHANEL.

In 2005, on the 50th anniversary of the birth of the "2.55 handbag" , Karl Lagerfeld launched the Reissue 2.55 series , a replica of the "2.55 handbag" in tribute to Coco Chanel. The appearance of the new work is basically the same as the original: although the sheepskin material is replaced with cowhide, the original square buckle and all-metal chain are retained.

CHANEL classic bags also include the Le Boy series and the Gabrielle series. The Le Boy series debuted in 2011. The design was inspired by the hunting clips used by Coco Chanel when she was young, in memory of her lover Arthur Boy Capel; the Gabrielle series was born in 2017 and its name was taken from Coco Chanel's real name to commemorate her early years.

· Chronology of major events ·