Martha Debayle: Coco Chanel: The Triumph of the Will | Martha DeBayle | W Radio Mexico

Cristina Morató, writer and journalist. Author of the books “Intrepid and adventurous travelers”, “The queens of Africa”, “Ladies from the East”, “Cautiva en Arabia”, “Divas Rebeldes”, “Divina Lola”, “Goddesses of Hollywood”, among others. // cristinamorato.com // FB: Cristina Morató // IG:@cristina.morato.oficial

About Gabrielle Chanel:

• She was a French haute couture designer who founded the Chanel brand.

• Born in Saumur, France; on August 19, 1883

• She is the only fashion designer to appear on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

• It stood out for being one of the most innovative during the First World War.

• He made a break with the opulent and impractical elegance of the Belle Époque and created a line of casual, simple and comfortable clothing.

• She also established herself as a designer of handbags, perfumes, hats and jewelry.

• His famous women's tailored tweed suit became an icon of feminine elegance, and his Chanel Nº5 perfume is an iconic product known worldwide.

• She was known for her steadfast determination, ambition and vitality.

• Achieved success as a businesswoman and social prominence in the 1910s

• COCO: Gabrielle Chanel acquired the name "Coco" while singing when she became identified with two popular songs "Ko Ko Ri Ko" and "Qui qu'a vu Coco." Later, she would tell everyone that Coco is the nickname her father gave her.

His childhood:

• He was born in a humble French town.

• Daughter of Eugénie Jeanne Devolle and Albert Chanel, she grew up with her five siblings in Saumur. Her parents married shortly after she was born.

• At age 11, Gabrielle lost her mother to bronchitis. Her father, at that time, gave her two sons to a peasant family. For their part, the girls were admitted to the Aubazine orphanage.

• In these years, Chanel learned basic knowledge in sewing.

• At the age of 18, she was transferred to a new religious boarding school in Moulins. She stayed there until she was 21 years old.

• In Moulins, Coco had her first job as a tailor's assistant. However, she was attracted to the world of entertainment, specifically cabaret. It was during this time that she adopted the nickname Coco.

• Hoping to dedicate herself to show business, Coco went to Vichy. There, she found a reality quite different from what she expected: her singing skills were not up to her standards and she did not find a job. Shortly after, he returned to Moulins and resumed his old position at the La rotonde cabaret, although he already knew that he did not have a promising future as a singer.

Sewing Beginnings:

• Gabrielle learned to sew during her time at Aubazine and went on to work as a seamstress, which she supplemented by singing in a Moulins cabaret frequented by French cavalry officers.

• Shortly thereafter, she met Etienne Balsan, a wealthy young Frenchman. With him she lived in her castle in Royallieu, where she experienced luxury and began to rub shoulders with high society.

• During that time, Coco Chanel already stood out for her sober, elegant style with an androgynous touch. She already designed her own clothes and hats for her close circle.

• Shortly after, he met Arthur Capel, known as Boy, a friend of Balsan's. They both felt an enormous attraction almost instantly. He confessed to him his desire to set up a hat shop in Paris.

• It was said and done. In 1910, Chanel opened her first store at 21 Rue Cambon in Paris. Soon, their hats invaded the streets of Paris.

• The exquisiteness of Chanel's designs was not only in the hats. Encouraged by her clients, who were fascinated by the clothes she wore, she opened a boutique in Deauville, Normandy, in 1913.

• There he sold his first luxury and sports-oriented garments. Immediately afterwards it became a hit.

• Two years later, he opened a new store in Biarritz. Despite being in the middle of the First World War, it was as successful or more successful than that of Normandy.

Her consecration as a designer:

• Her designs were elegant, functional and with a masculine touch.

• In 1916, Vogue magazine published his designs

• Soon after, in 1918, he opened his most iconic boutique at 31 Rue Cambon. By then, it already had more than 300 employees. From that moment, Chanel became a reference designer.

• In 1919, Boy Capel was killed in a traffic accident and Coco was devastated. As a sign of mourning, she designed black dresses that did not lose the elegance that characterized her. Soon after, the Little black dress became a wardrobe staple.

• In 1921, the iconic Chanel No. 5 perfume, created by perfumer Ernest Beaux, went on sale. (It was the first fragrance to bear a designer's name, and it was accompanied by the number five because a fortune teller had told Chanel that this was her lucky number.)

• In 1924, he created the entity Chanel Parfums with the Wertheimer brothers. However, this union only reported 10% of the benefits and he never agreed.

• A short time later, she opened new boutiques and her jewelry line, in which pearls were the absolute protagonists.

• His most acclaimed designs were the knitted jumper and the tweed skirt and jacket suits. In addition, he reinvented the cut of the skirt, making it a little shorter than the classic one.

• By 1935, Chanel already had more than 4,000 employees and was designing for Hollywood. However, after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, it closed all its boutiques.

• Only the site on Rue Cambon remained open, where she sold accessories and perfumes. She claimed that "it was not the time for fashion."

World War II:

• During the years of World War II, a regulation prohibited Jews from having businesses on French territory. Holding on to this, Coco Chanel wanted to get 100% of the profits from Chanel Parfums, since her partners were Jewish.

• Much has been said about Coco Chanel's position during World War II due to her relationship with a German agent. However, the French Ministry of Defense declassified documents that dispel speculation.

• But, according to these documents, the designer was anti-Semitic and on the side of the Nazis. Furthermore, she reveals that she may have collaborated with German intelligence under the code F-7124.

• After the end of the war, sympathizers of the Germans were interrogated and tried by the French authorities. Coco Chanel was arrested, but shortly after she was released. After this episode, he moved to Switzerland.

Later Years:

• Coco Chanel lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1954. That year, she moved back to Paris, where she reopened her famous boutiques. Shortly after the reopening, the legendary Chanel bag went on sale: the 2.55. (When Chanel made her first bag, in 1929, she caused a bit of a scandal by including a shoulder strap, considered inappropriate at the time. "I got tired of holding my bags in my hands and losing them," she said, "so I added a strap." Chanel then redesigned its iconic chain-strap quilted bag and launched it in February 1955. Hence its name, the 2.55).

• Coco Chanel's activity as a designer and dressmaker did not stop during these years and her fame continued to grow. Such was the success of her designs that Vogue USA published them in several issues for years.

• On January 10, 1971, Coco Chanel died alone in her room at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which was her home for years.

• Today, the House of Chanel is one of the most famous haute couture firms in the world. Some of his designs have become fashion and style icons.

Her most iconic designs:

• The little black dress: In a time when black was only worn by women when they were in mourning, Coco Chanel gave women the little black dress a new opportunity to dress elegant even during times of the great depression in Europe. Made in wool or chenille for daytime wear, and satin, crepe, or velvet for nighttime, Chanel enabled low-income women to walk like millionaires.

• The Tweed Suit: Chanel's tweed jacket and skirt set did not have shoulder pads or darts at the bust lines as was customary in design at the time, it was a cleverly designed piece tailored to suit the clients. It was thought of a man in particular, the Duke of Westminster, one of Chanel's lovers.

• The 2.55 bag: Inspired by the bags of soldiers during the war. The padding and texture of its exterior, on the other hand, stemmed from Gabrielle's relationship with sports, being a direct reference to the vests worn by jockeys in horse racing.

• The Two-Tone Shoes: Gabrielle created a two-tone piece, its black toe shortening the appearance of the foot, while the nude color gave the illusion of longer legs. Chanel's creation became revolutionary and was made in two versions, high-heeled shoes and slippers.

• The Breton top: Chanel's travels were the reason for the creation of many of her pieces, and the Breton top was no exception. Her trips to the French coast and the nautical uniform of the sailors caused Chanel to incorporate into her 1917 collection a piece with horizontal lines, the Breton top, one of the most famous pieces created by Chanel.