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orn in August 1881 into a humble and nu- Chanel was clear that to stand out and undertake, the im-
merous family in the small French town of portant thing was not to depend on anyone. The creative
Saumur, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was a freedom to design, to propose and to be a trendsetter is
woman with very clear ideas from her ear- only possible in this way. So, Coco introduced her propos-
liest childhood. She was determined to live als to the market: a comfortable and elegant style, but also
a full life and if it was necessary to break casual and sporty, simply because her garments allowed
Bthe rules, she would. We are talking about women to walk, run and move freely, without fainting due to
a time when women rarely excelled in any field, much less in lack of air. A practical style, with masculine and minimal-
business. She was a heavy smoker, bonne vivante and an ist influences, totally the opposite of the corseted dresses
enormous worker. Her ideas were revolutionary and her that literally oppressed the women of the time.
strong statements, such as the one in which she declares
that "beauty begins the minute you decide to be yourself" or the “The best colour in the world, is the one
one in which she dismantles prejudices saying that "luxury is that looks good, on you” Coco Chanel
not the opposite of poverty, but of vulgarity”.
Her designs soon conquered women and her success was
After trying to find a place in the entertainment industry as exponential. In 1913 she opened her first clothing store in
an artist in cabarets, she soon realised that she would not Normandy, oriented to luxury and sports, and despite the
stand out in this field, so she changed course, putting all her First World War, two years later she would open another
efforts in what she was really good at: design and fashion. shop in Biarritz. In 1918, it was the turn of her most famous
In short, another way of being an artist. What she did keep boutique, the one at 31 rue Cambon. By then she already
from that initial time was her nickname, Coco, which would had 300 employees.
accompany her all her life.
During her career she also had time to flirt with the
Her first steps in fashion were as a hat designer and as soon Hollywood industry, but the affair was short-lived, since
as she raised enough money, she opened her own store in in the words of Chanel herself "Hollywood was nothing more
Paris, at 21 rue Cambon. Later, many more would come. than the world´s capital of bad taste". However, in her American

MG MAGAZINE 70