Fashion career profile

Coco Chanel

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883–1971) was a French designer whose work helped shape modern women’s clothing through practical forms, jersey, tailoring and a distinctive house vocabulary. She began in millinery and built a fashion business in the early twentieth century, developing shops and ateliers in Paris and French resort towns. Museum histories describe her first shop as opening in 1913, while the house’s own chronology dates its beginnings to 1910; this profile keeps those accounts distinct rather than forcing a single date. By 1919 the Paris couture house was established at 31 rue Cambon. Chanel’s designs used jersey and sportswear references to loosen the conventions of dress, and the little black dress became a widely recognized modern staple. She closed her couture salon in 1939 when war began, then returned to fashion in 1954 with a new collection. Her founder tenure comprises two periods, before and after that closure; the house’s later creative leadership is recorded separately.

Role
Founder, Chanel
Nationality
French
Age at death
87
Career appointments
2
Fashion houses
1