Born: Aug 19, 1883, Saumur, France
Died: Jan 10, 1971, Paris
Coco Chanel, real name Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was a
French fashion designer and one of the leaders of haute couture (high fashion), whose name was synonymous with elegance and chic. She was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire. In 1914, Chanel opened a millinery shop in Paris. By the mid-1920s she had launched the classic Chanel look, consisting of a casual but extremely well-cut wool jersey suit with straight, collarless cardigan jacket and short, full-cut skirt, worn with art deco costume jewellery and a sailor hat over short hair. Her Chanel No. 5, one of several perfumes she created, became world-famous. Chanel designed nothing during World War II and its aftermath, but she successfully revived the understated Chanel look in 1954. The American musical Coco (1969) by Alan Jay Lerner and André Previn is based on her life.
