5. There was no future, at that time, for a poor girl brought up by the charity. But the dream for escape was made in her mind at this early age. Never in her life would Coco Chanel
mention her younger years spent in orphanage. She would work relentlessly to erase all the traces of the unhappy fate that had been meant for her.
Gabrielle was born on August
19, 1883 as a second child of
an unmarried couple (the
couple got married
later, when Gabrielle was 1
year old). Her father was a
small-wares peddler, her
mother came from a family of
a peasant. A little girl was
named Gabrielle Chanel. Her
mother died when Chanel
was twelve years old. One
week later she was
abandoned by her father, who
left her to be raised by the
nuns in a provincial
orphanage.
6. There was no future, at that
time, for a poor girl brought
up by the charity. But the
dream for escape was made
in her mind at this early age.
Never in her life would Coco
Chanel mention her younger
years spent in orphanage. She
would work relentlessly to
erase all the traces of the
unhappy fate that had been
meant for her.
8. Several years passed at school
before the young girl would
try to make a start. At first she
began as a shopkeeper
specializing in linens and
small wares. Later she would
try to sing and dance, with an
idea to make a career in the
theatre. These attempts
would not bring her any
luck, with an exception to the
nickname Coco acquired at
that time. The nickname
"Coco" had been given to her
by her audience for her songs
"Ko Ko Ri Ko" and "Qui qu’a vu
Coco".
9. At the age of twenty-two
Coco Chanel met Etienne
Balsan, a gentlemen horse
breeder and riding
enthusiast, and accepted his
proposal to live together. She
would enjoy her life in a
castle, even though she would
never get used to her position
of an official mistress. What
did she really want? To make
a career for herself as a
modiste – a milliner.
10. Coco Chanel would soon meet
another person who would
find a merit in her idea and
would help her change her
life completely. This was an
Englishman Arthur
Capel, known to his friends as
"Boy". She could have never
before imagined herself
together with a man who was
so enterprising, athletic
and, despite his
youth, already an important
businessman. He helped
Chanel to open her first
milliner shop in Paris in
1910, and later in 1913 her
boutique in Deauville, France.
12. Once she opened her
business and began to apply
her taste and capacities to
it, she would change into a
woman entrepreneur forever.
Nothing would stop her: not
the lack of experience, not
even the war that soon
exploded. For the rest of her
life she would work as both
craftsman and
businesswoman, implementin
g her own view of the art of
dressing on her ever
expanding clientele…She
started as a hat maker to the
divas, and they revealed her
name to Paris.
13. Her business would soon
grow into something never
known in the history.
Traditionally, dressmakers had
never been part of a
"society". But Coco Chanel
changed that. At the age of
fifty-five, Coco Chanel was in
the prime of her beauty. Her
face, like her figure, had
reached their ultimate
refinement. She had never
dressed with more invention
or with a greater perfection.
At that time she was the most
admired and most invited.
People proved to be more
interested in her
face, photographers were
passionate about it. These
were the golden years for
Coco Chanel
15. She’s not a ordinary
woman, or a ordinary fashion
designer... She is a teacher.
She tough the world of
women not just how to dress
up yourself... But how you can
grow up in life been... A
fighter, struggling everyday; A
person who believe in true
love; A person who believe
that better days are coming; A
person who believe in herself;
A powerfull woman, with her
huge empire of fashion design
and as to a wife. - Me