1. Gabrielle Coco Chanel
The first and most successful international business woman
of the 20th century

2. Biography
• Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in 1883 in French
village of Saumur.
• Couldn’t afford the fashionable clothes of the period so
she rejected them and made her own.
• Chanel was shaped by the nuns who raised her at
Aubazine where she learned to sew.
• Wanted to be independent and for her clothes to
represent that as well.
• Opened her first shop, a millinery, in Paris in 1909
• Chanel No. 5 was launched in 1923
– Marketed as “A very improper perfume for nicely brought-
up ladies”

3. Biography
• Opened her second couture house in Paris in
1924.
• In 1939 she shut down her fashion business.
Chanel was a nurse during WWII and began a
love affair with a Nazi officer.
• Entangled in complicated relationships with a
number of wealthy men.
• Almost married one of the richest men in Europe,
the Duke of Westminster
• By 1954 CoCo launches a successful comeback
before her death January 10th 1971 in Paris.

4. Fashion and Industry
• Elegant hats
• Camellia’s jewelry
• First World War- military
colors and references
emerged
• In 1920-1929- women’s
fashion had emerged towards
what became known in
France as the “Garçonne
look” = “Female Dandy”
• For the first time in the
fashion history dress length
was shortened

5. Fashion and Industry
"A woman wearing black draws attention to herself, not the dress."
• 1920- “The little black dress”
• Chanel’s black dresses = the
mass produced model-T Ford
motor car
• Large pearl stud earrings and
trade mark pearls in multiple
stings
• Chanel was the first to make
the fake jewelry acceptable
among a clientele who could
afford and already owned
priceless jewels.
• 1932-she started to design
diamond jewelry.

6. Fashion and Industry
“A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”
Coco Chanel
• 1921- Her first Perfume Chanel No.5
• Note: the simplicity of the bottle, and its relatively
unchanged form since its creation in 1921 till today
• 1941- American market crucial for Chanel perfume sales
• 1950- Sales are down
• 1952- Sales soared. WHY?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6AtDQZ8K28

7. Fashion and Industry
• The Chanel Suit
The outfit was the perfect
choice for the post-war
woman who was trying to
build a career in the male-
dominated workplace. The
suit was favored by
celebrities like Audrey
Hepburn and Grace Kelly,
and Jackie Kennedy

8. Fashion and Industry
• 1955- Iconic quilted
handbag was introduced
• Chanel named the bag
2.55
• 1970 a new fragrance,
Chanel No.19 was
launched for the younger
woman.
• Principal ingredient was
extract of iris.
• The last collection that
Chanel worked on was
for spring/summer 1971.

9. Influential Traits
"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is
inevitable."- Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
• Tenacious
• Confident and truly believed in herself
• Clear and empowering mission
• Vision of where she wanted the fashion industry to go
• Persuasive in a unique way
• Innovative—LBD, hats, flowy clothing from typically men’s fabrics
• Entrepreneur
• Pioneer of the industry

10. 1

11. Leadership Qualities
• Leading Change and Innovation
– Wartime helped encourage change
• Power and Influence Tactics
– If she had not been well respected by members of
the upper-class they may not have considered her
ideas
– Lead by example
• Charisma and unconventional behavior
• Dark side of charisma

12. Positive Influences
• Boy Chapel
• WWI helped propel her ideas because women
liked the idea that they were supposed to
dress for themselves instead of the men
• End of the war
• Became a member of the in crowd with her
legendary changes and she befriended
Stravinsky, Picasso and other members of the
elite Paris crowd

14. Controversial Aspects of her
Leadership
• Extremely confident-some say arrogant and rude
• Exploited Opportunities
• Intolerant and Autocratic, generated fear among
her staff for her bad-tempered outbursts
– Marie-Loise Deray, who started to work for Chanel in
1915, asked for a pay rise in 1925 and was promptly
fired (she did not emancipate her staff financially or
champion their rights)

15. Ethnic Influences
• Chanel's influence with no doubt strengthened the
liberation of women
• Chanel challenged both the status quo for fashion and
for women's roles in society
• Chanel's fashions not only changed the way women
looked on the outside, but they also changed the way
women looked at themselves
• Slav Inspired Designs
• Russian muzhiks (peasant) attire known as the
roubachka.
• The horse culture and penchant for hunting
• nautical pursuits
– all traditionally worn by sailors and fishermen

16. Legacy as a Designer
• Her design aesthetic redefined the fashionable
woman for the post WWI era.
– The Chanel trademark was a look of youthful ease, a
liberated physicality, and unencumbered sportive
confidence.
• Chanel's own look itself was as different and
new as her creations
• her undeniable influence on fashion and
women’s role in society has and will continue for
many years in the future.

17. Chanel Today
“Maybe what I’ve done would have killed her, but without me, she would be dead.” -Karl
Lagerfeld
• 1983- Karl Lagerfeld
become Chanel’s
designer
• Chanel is Luxury Daily’s
2013 Luxury Marketer
of the Year
• Offers: high quality
product + emotional
experience.
• Competitors: Gucci,
Prada, Louis Vuitton
• There are 310
boutiques worldwide

18. Summary
• The world-famous fashion dictator who tells the duchesses and
countesses and queens of Europe what to wear.
• Iconic leader
• Inspirational figure in the industry
'Dress badly,' she once said, 'and people will notice the dress.
Dress well and people will notice the woman.'
'Fashion is not just about dresses; fashion is something in the
air. Fashion is in the sky, the street. Fashion is about ideas,
the way we live, what is happening.' Coco Chanel

19. Bibliography
• http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197624
• http://www.babyblog.ru/community/post/english/1694121
• http://www.motivatedsista.com/2010/01/29/9-reasons-coco-
chanel-is-my-she-ro/
• http://astrumpeople.com/coco-chanel-biography-woman-who-
changed-world-of-fashion/
• http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e64fe
040-2ffd-49cd-845a-
897c509a68d2%40sessionmgr4002&vid=2&hid=4103
• http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=7c28a052-4d51-
4877-b0d6-
4608d6db1b42%40sessionmgr198&vid=1&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdG
U9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=655915