The House of Chanel was created in 1909 by Gabrielle, Coco, Chanel. She started by selling fine hats to rich women to make a living. In 1910, Boy Capel, a socialite and friend of Coco, financed her first independent millinery shop, Chanel Modes. the shop sold only millinery products, not couture. After WWI fashion took a turn, as did Chanel. Chanel opened a dress shop in Paris that sold women’s skirts, blazers, and long sweaters. Many of Coco’s designs derived from military uniforms because of the war. By 1915, the House of Chanel had made a name throughout the whole of France. She had over 300 employees and started designing her first couture collection.
After the war, Coco moved with the trends into beads and feathers, the start of the flapper era. The outgoing style caused a massive increase in Chanel’s couture collection. During the 1920s, women stated their femininity boldly through more masculine clothing. Coco used colors associated with masculinity, such as navy blue, gray, and black, as the main ingredient in her clothes. Chanel also was popular for their suits and leather trimmings, new trends in women’s fashion.
In 1921, Chanel came out with their first, to this day, iconic staple. This is the Chanel No.5 perfume. Coco Chanel commissioned perfumer Ernest Beaux to create a perfume for La Maison Chanel. While this perfume was first given as a gift to customers, it is now one of the most widely known perfumes of all time.
After Chanel No.5 launched the brand even further, Coco made the decision to expand past France and Europe and to craft more perfume. Coco sought out a northern businessman to help her expand to America and was introduced to Pierre Wertheimer. Wertheimer owned 70% of the company, while Coco herself only owned 10%, the remaining 20% belonging to Théophile Bader who introduced the two. While their partnership resulted in copious amounts of success for the brand, Coco believed that Pierre was exploiting her talents as not only a designer but also as a businesswoman and their partnership deteriorated. Following the split, Coco hired an attorney, but despite her best efforts, her shares remained the same.
During the 1930s, Chanel broadened the brand, focusing on the diamond as the centerpiece of jewelry. Coco continued working on her dresses, focusing on evening gowns. She made the gowns to elongate the body and enhance the femininity of the woman wearing it. She started to work more rhinestones into her clothing, drawing from Renaissance-time fashion styling. Chanel started making a wider variety of clothing, presenting clothes designed for petite women. By the end of the 30s, no one’s clothes could compete with that of Chanel’s, with the exception of Elsa Schiaparelli.
In the 1940s, during WWII, Chanel limited their market to only perfume and jewelry. Coco lived with her boyfriend, Hans Günther von Dincklage, a Nazi intelligence officer. The Nazis established a Parisian occupation headquarters just around the corner from Maison Chanel. The Nazis approved the perfume company to keep operating, which led to rumors that Coco was a Nazi collaborator. Coco was sent on a mission to speak with Winston Churchill about the “separate peace” plan.
After the war ended, Coco was arrested for working with the Nazis. While she was not held long due to lack of evidence, she was no longer welcome in France. This led to her fleeing to Switzerland with Hans. Meanwhile, Wertheimer returned to Paris and ran Parfums Chanel, becoming wildly successful because of the name attached to the brand. Coco created a rival Swiss perfume brand and continued to sell her Chanel perfumes. Pierre and Coco renegotiated the terms of their deal and she was paid $400,000, granted a perpetual monthly stipend that paid all of her expenses, and was given and 2% sunning royalty from the sales of Chanel No.5. In turn, Chanel closed her Swiss parfumerie enterprise, and sold to Parfums Chanel the full rights to the name “Coco Chanel”.
