Chanel creating a style

The brand Chanel perfectly represents the style of the Parisian woman, with a look that is both sophisticated and casually chic. Like its founder Gabrielle Chanel, with a determined temperament, the brand still imposes its own codes of luxury today. Let's discover the history of the brand to better understand its iconic creations.

From her beginnings as a milliner to sportswear

Gabrielle Chanel, Born in Saumur, she settled in Paris in 1910, rue Cambon as a milliner. In the summer, thanks to her mentors and lovers (the Frenchman and horse breeder Etienne Balsan and the English polo player, Boy Capel), she opened boutiques in Deauville and Biarritz, offering her first sportswear borrowed from the equestrian world. In particular, her famous quilted pattern was inspired by the outfits of lads and the saddle pads of horses. With her impertinent nickname, Coco Chanel shortens skirts and frees women's bodies. She cuts dresses from jersey stable boys' jerseys, which will quickly become her favorite material. With her boyish hairstyle, she breaks the codes by playing on a masculine-feminine style with tweed and jacquard patterns borrowed from the British style. This jacquard pattern and the quilting are reinterpreted today in a stylized way with the new collection Coco Crush particularly iconic.

The camellia as an emblem

In 1923, Gabrielle Chanel chose the camellia as its emblem, borrowing this flower from Parisian dandies, such as Marcel Proust, who wore it in his buttonhole. She pinned this winter flower, originally from Asia, on a first muslin dress. This flower also reminded her of the Lady of the Camellias, played with talent by Sarah Bernhardt, whom she had admired in the theater during her childhood. A true iconic flower of the brand, the camellia is reinterpreted today in multiple materials: tweed, feathers or satin. In jewelry, the sculpture of stones called glyptic makes it possible to create precious flowers in onyx or white agate, without forgetting white pearls to honor this very delicate flower.

The creation of a jewelry workshop

As early as 1924, Gabrielle Chanel opens a costume jewelry workshop. If her outfits are sober, she wants to embellish them with opulent jewelry. She mixes rhinestones, fake or real pearls with fine stones. She surrounds herself with talented designers like Etienne de Beaumont or Paul Iribe. But it is above all the Italian artisan jeweler Fulco di Verdura, whom she meets in Venice, who will create her emblematic pieces like the Maltese cross bracelet with multi-colored fine stones or the brand's iconic chain Chanel.In 1926, she also created her famous "little black dress", a color traditionally reserved for mourning, but enhanced with white pearl necklaces that add a beautiful sparkle. These pearls transformed into long necklaces bring movement to a silhouette or are transformed into elegant earrings or imposing baroque rings. 

The 1932 Diamond Jewelry Collection

Unique jewelry collection, created by Gabrielle Chanel, The Diamond Jewelry collection pays tribute to the brilliance of this precious stone under the watchful eye of a seamstress. The necklaces are transformed into fringes reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties or into precious ribbons evoking the wise Peter Pan collars of her childhood at boarding school. Believing in celestial magic, Mademoiselle Chanel had seen a shooting star above the Tuileries Gardens bringing her luck. She decided to create a Shooting Star necklace and a brooch Comète. Most of the pieces are transformable, already designed for free and emancipated women. The exhibition of her collection in 1932 in her private mansion, Faubourg Saint Honoré, was a real success. "I want the jewel to be on the woman's fingers like a ribbon. I wanted to cover women with constellations," she explained at the launch. But this free woman offering a modern interpretation of the diamond encountered opposition from the jewelers of Place Vendôme who demanded that the diamond dealers dismantle the pieces. Fortunately, since 1993 when she set up her jewelry boutique on Place Vendôme, the brand Chanel has relaunched this legendary collection and brings numerous variations each year.

Ceramics, a revolutionary material

In the year 2000, the brand Chanel unveiled its first J12 ceramic watch that revolutionized the world of watchmaking. This high-tech material, six times harder than steel, is suitable for this sports watch, available in white and black or in titanium ceramic. Thesecond-hand was too beautiful to revisit her jewelry collection as well Ultra with ceramic links interspersed with rows of white gold and sometimes enhanced with diamonds. Mademoiselle Chanel liked to say: "Black holds everything. White too. They are absolutely beautiful, it's the perfect match." The maison Chanel has not only been able to create a style, but has always known how to reinvent itself!