Many of the brands that have gained world-renowned fame, but very few have succeeded in maintaining their position in the market for successive generations, by constantly developing their products in line with modernity, and then gaining the trust of customers.
Chanel, the French designer of haute couture, accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, is one of the brands that, over the course of more than a century, has established itself as one of the giants in global fashion.
Coco Chanel puts the first brick in the edifice of success
Founded by fashion designer Coco Chanel in 1910, the company is now owned by brothers Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer, grandchildren of Pierre Wertheimer, who has been Coco Chanel’s original partner
A genius for new designs, Coco Chanel sparked a revolution in the fashion industry by returning to the basics that ensure elegance, maintain class and originality in her era starting in 1909, and continued to do so until her death on January 10, 1971.
humble beginning
In 1909, Coco Chanel began her difficult and long career in the world of fashion by knitting hats on the ground floor of the “La Balsan” building in the French capital, Paris, to lay the first building block in the edifice that later became one of the largest fashion companies in the world.
Then Coco Chanel, with the help of Archerboy Cabel, a member of the Bassan men’s group, was able to get a seat on the Camion Street in Paris in 1910, where Cabel provided her with money, not to mention that his house was intended for the treatment of men and women, which gave Coco Chanel the opportunity to sell Its products are decorative hats for women in his house and get acquainted with them.
Later, in 1913, Chanel added women’s sportswear to its new store in Biarritz and Deauville. Chanel’s designs tended to be simple rather than sophisticated.
First World War
The First World War, of course, had an impact on fashion, as women worked in factories and needed clothes to withstand working conditions. Perhaps this is what prompted Coco to inaugurate another store on Rue Cambon, in front of the Ritz Paris.
In this store, Coco sold linen blazers and long sweaters, not forgetting her precarious financial position in the early years of her career, during which she bought clothes made of raw jersey because it was cheap.
chanel perfumes
The year 1921 saw the promotion of the first perfume called “Chanel No. Five”. Then Chanel founded “Chanel Perfumes” in 1924 in partnership with Pierre Wertheimer to produce and sell perfumes and beauty products.
Théophile Bader (founder of French department store Galeries Lafayette) introduced Coco to Wertheimer. Wertheimer retained 70% of the profits of Chanel perfumes, while Badr kept 20%, and Coco kept 10%.
While Chanel fashion and perfume were a hit, business relations between Pierre and Coco were strained, as she expressed her dissatisfaction with the partnership with Pierre Wertheimer. She said she deserved more than 10% of the profits, as he used her talents for personal gain. But Wertheimer reminded Coco that he is the one financing her projects.
Coco Rene de Champerin commissioned a lawyer to renegotiate Wertheimer to raise her share of the perfume brand’s profits, but he failed to convince him.
The departure of “Coco Chanel” and the developments of the company
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Coco Chanel retired and moved to the Ritz Hotel in Paris with her new lover, Nazi officer Hans Günther von Dinklage.
With the fall of France in 1940, Wertheimer and his family fled to the United States, and Coco tried to control Chanel perfumes.
At that time it was rumored that Coco was on good terms with the Germans, and Charles, the editor of Chanel’s biography, said that German intelligence had sent her to visit Winston Churchill as part of a secret peace mission, and after the liberation of France, Coco Chanel was arrested on the spot and accused of collaborating with the Germans, but Churchill refused to let Chanel stay Even for a day behind bars, he intervened on her behalf and asked for her release, so that she could travel to Switzerland.
Chanel’s Return
Chanel returned to Paris in 1953 to find fashion designer Christian Dior to dominate the haute couture market. Coco re-teamed with Pierre to provide business and financial advice. At the meeting, she acquired full rights to all the products and stamped them with the name “Chanel”. The fruit of the re-collaboration was that Chanel became the top fashion label once again.
Then Coco Chanel passed away on January 10, 1971 at the age of 87. She was still designing and working until her death, as she designed the uniforms for air hostesses working for Olympic Airlines (1966-1969), where Olympic Airlines was one of the most luxurious airlines owned by the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle
Chanel has excelled in almost all areas of fashion, from fashion and ready-to-wear products to perfumes, cosmetics, skin care lines, and finally sunglasses and medical lines, but these are certainly not the last areas of work for the company, as the latter is always innovating and renewing Continuing to keep pace with the modern