Coco Chanel

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Science TT505 C45 H327

Paris: Gutenberg

Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (1883-1971), known as Coco, was the illegitimate daughter of a laundress and a clothing peddler. After her mother died in about 1895, Coco lived in an orphanage where she learned to sew. She left the orphanage aged 18 and worked as a seamstress, and in a cabaret act. Coco opened her first couturier shop in Paris in the 1920s where she sold her designer clothing, perfume, and jewellery. Throughout her life, Coco moved in the higher echelons of Paris society, mainly thanks to a succession of high profile lovers – she even had an affair with the 2nd Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor. Coco’s designs live on in the Chanel suit, the little black dress, and the double C logo of the Chanel brand.