Coco Chanel .....An Icon of Fashion

Have you ever seen the most prettiest or expensive looking handbag and from than on that's the only thing you can think about? About how good you would look with that bag dangling from your shoulder while walking through the malls? Obviously you have, we are girls that's what we do! But have you ever stopped to think about the history of that bag or the creativity it took of a human being  to create such an elegant piece of art ?

Well one person who had the creativity was a girl named Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. At a young age she learnt the trade of a seamstress at an orphanage she stayed at until she was 18 years of age*.  From there she had other interests like being a singer in the village cafes. That is where her nickname Coco came to arise.  In 1908 she married a rich military man and that is when she made her design of hats as a diversion*. Then went on to have a relationship with an English Industrialist who financed her first shops and who was the inspiration for her next design of women's loose jerseys. She wanted to send out a message to the woman of that time that just because everyone else is wearing tight corsets that doesn't mean you have too. From than on Chanel became an icon in fashion with her first "Chanel Collection" which started the trend of the "little black dress" and Chanel N 5 perfume. That was the start of an evolution in fashion. She went on to design pea coats and bell-bottoms for women which expanded to the US in 1954*. She made a positive impact in the fashion industry all the way until her death in 1971*. 

I think that if all these events haven't led Chanel to sewing or designing clothes in her early years of living the fashion industry wouldn't be so developed as it is today! For me, fashion is a part of my everyday life. It is in our daily routine to pick out an outfit for the day in the morning. It can sometimes display a personality or a mood of person. I believe that Coco Chanel wanted people to express their different styles and liking's even if it wasn't the "in" style at the time. She gave clients options and for that reason it gave out a lot of competition between other high end designers starting their career at the same time. The drive and passion  that Chanel possessed is what keeps the evolution of fashion growing in every country and in every century that passes by. Chanel is a prime example of how following your dreams can one day have a big influence on how people dress or carry themselves around the world. 

But is Coco Chanel a real competitor compared to other designers like Gucci, Prada etc. or are they all made from the same cloth?   

* :  http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/coco-chanel.html