Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

          Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel rose to become one of the premiere fashion designers in Paris in 1920, eight years after sge opened her first millinery shop. She replaced corsets with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion creations included the simple suit, dresses, women's trousers, costume jewellery, perfume and textiles.
          She was a mistress of a wealthy military officer, then of an English Industrialist. Chanel drew on the resources of these patrons in setting up a millinery shop in Paris in 1912, expanding to Deauville and Biarritz. The two 'woo'd' men also helped her find customers among young women and women of society; her hats became very popular.
          Soon, Chanel expanded to couture, working in jersey, which was a first in French Fashion. By the 20's, her fashion house expanded greatly and she set a fashion trend with her clothes looking like "little boys" clothes for women. Her relaxed fashions posed a new sense of fashion and were a sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in previous decades.
          By 1922, she introduced her signature perfume, Chanel No.5, which became and remained and still remains a profitable product.
          Coco Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature 'little balck dress' in '26. Most of her fashions has a staying power and didnt change much from year to year, or even generation to generation.

          In addition to her work with high fashion, Chanel also disgned stage costumes for such plays as Cocteau's Antigone (1923) and Oeclipus Rex (1937) and film costumes for several movies, including Renoir's La Regle de Jeu. Katherine Hepburn starred in the 1963 Broadway Musical, Coco, based on the life of Coco Chanel.