While I’ve been itching to watch Coco Avant Chanel, the Gabrielle Chanel biopic starring Audrey Tautou, it sadly has yet to make its way to my local theatre. So, I found the next best thing; Chanel and Her World.
Chanel and Her World; Friends, Fashion, and Fame by Edmonde Charles-Roux is a coffee table book about the life of the legendary fashion designer. But unlike In Vogue, I wanted to read every bit of text in this pictorial piece. From her birth in 1883 to her death in 1971, I read every page of the deliciously stylish book.
Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19, 1883. The daughter of small-wares peddler Albert Chanel and his companion Jeanne Devolle, Gabrielle Chanel was born in The Hospice General, a sign of extreme poverty. Jeanne walked herself to the hospital as Albert did not accompany her. The following day, three hospital employees took Gabrielle to the town hall to register her. The hospital employees were all illiterate and did not know how to spell “Chanel,” so the mayor guessed and spelt it “Chasnel.”
Chanel grew up very poor as her father struggled to make ends meet selling undergarments and work clothes. In 1895, Gabrielle Chanel’s mother died and Albert Chanel abandoned his daughters, forcing them to live in an orphanage. Gabrielle could not stay at the orphanage past age 18, so at nearly 19 years old she moved to Moulins where an institution by a congregation of canonesses accepted her. The institution viewed Gabrielle as a charity case; most likely her hair was cut by dog shearers who sold girls hair to rich women that wanted more for style. Compared to the rich girls at the institution who had numerous pieces of clothing made from cashmere, Gabrielle wore rough wool and second-hand boots. This was not a woman who grew up with means.
After two years in the institution, Gabrielle became a shop girl and started social climbing through men. Monsieur number one was Etienne Balsan of the 90th Infantry Regiment. But, of course, there were many more men in her life…
Gabrielle Chanel’s first ambition was not designing clothing; it was actually performing. In Moulins at La Rotonde, Gabrielle made her stage debut. But it wasn’t exactly the high-class fare; La Rotonde became known for its concert a quete, which was considered low-class. Chanel performed “Ko Ko Ri Ko” and “Qui qu’a vu Coco.” The audience began calling her “Coco,” the refrain in both songs.
Coco Chanel always had her own unique style. Well before she sold her pieces, Chanel dressed quite differently than the other women in France. On page 54, she is shown wearing a bow-tie, which certainly was not common. But her confidence in style did not transfer to a confidence of self; since Etienne Balsan was not her husband, Chanel was considered a “kept woman,” and therefore she was distanced from the wives.
In 1912, Chanel pinpointed what she wanted to do in life: sell clothing. “What did she want? To work. Her idleness weighed on Coco. She was bored. She wanted to go to Paris and make a career for herself as a modiste-a milliner. It was not that Etienne opposed the idea, but that he pretended to see the project as nothing more than a lark, whereas Gabrielle spoke in terms of a real metier” (78). While Etienne Balsan had no interest in Chanel’s career, another man did; Arthur “Boy” Capel supported Chanel’s career. Thus began a new love affair; not just of Chanel’s adoration for Boy, but for her devotion towards a career.
Edmond Charles-Roux’s Chanel and Her World; Friends, Fashion, and Fame is a fascinating look at the life of Gabrielle Chanel. Charles-Roux brings to light the designer’s mysterious childhood, exposing the secrets that Chanel kept so hidden. And although Chanel fought tooth-and-nail to keep her past private, it is clear that Gabrielle never forgot her family’s influence. On page 377, Gabrielle says, “It is in paintings or in family albums that traces of true fashion are to be found.”