The Crooked Past of Coco Chanel

Written by Emily Fleming, PR & Outreach Director Graphic by Jessica Tenenbaum, Staff Graphic Artist

Coco Chanel was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on Aug. 19, 1883, in the small, historic town of Saumur, France. There remain many unknowns about her past, as she grew up in a time when few documentations were made about low-class individuals.1 What we do know is that her mother passed away when she was 12-years-old and that in the same year, her father left her in an orphanage, never to be seen again. It was in this orphanage that she learned how to sew, taught by strict, Catholic nuns who treated her so poorly it became her motivation to escape. At the age of 18, she left the convent and moved to Moulins, France, where she worked as a seamstress and performed as a singer on the side. She sang at clubs in central France, gaining the stage name “Coco” which she took with her into all other facets of life. Chanel herself said it was a “shortened version of cocotte, the French word for kept woman.”2 Conniving from the start, she took advantage of the lack of information on her past and was secretive about her humble beginnings. She focused on becoming more haughty than even those born into wealth. She prioritized social climbing above all else—only selectively choosing lovers based on if they could help her achieve her personal goals. At 20-years-old, she became involved with a French textile heir who financed her first retail store, Chanel Modes,

¹ Colin McDowell, “Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (18831971),” The Business of Fashion, Nov. 18, 2021. ² “Coco Chanel,” Biography, Dec. 10, 2021. which opened in 1910 on 21 Rue Cambon Street in Paris. Soon after, she left him for his wealthier peer, Boy Capel.3 Through him, she learned how to live, talk and dress like the aristocrats and the beau monde.4 He aided her in the purchase of the first flagship Chanel store in 1918—where the current House of Chanel, a six-story building, still resides—on 31 Rue Cambon Street. It is in this location that the brand of Chanel was truly born. In 1925, Chanel introduced the legendary suit and fitted skirt, becoming the first Parisian couturier to create collections for women that were influenced by menswear. Her designs aimed to exude the superiority and simplicity that menswear, and men in general, held at the time, while women’s contrasting feelings of restraint were exemplified through the limiting garments that were in style. She was a major player in women saying “goodbye to the days of corsets and other confining garments,” and aided in the transformation of the attitudes of women in the roaring ‘20s.5 The following year she created the little black dress, which solidified her presence as a serious designer and trendsetter of the time. The first sketch of this design appeared in American Vogue in October of 1926 and established the core of the Chanel brand: elegance in simplicity. The Chanel woman was modern, elegant and independent, a woman free from men and free in her clothing.

³ Ibid. ⁴ Ibid. ⁵ Ibid. Chanel stated “Before me, no one would have dared to dress in black.” Many have hypothesized about her fascination with the color, and the exact reason remains unknown. Perhaps it was a reflection of her solitude, a means of grieving her childhood or the tragic losses of her mother and other important figures in her life. Perhaps she took a timely cue from “a country in mourning,” as during WWI, the streets of Paris were filled with mothers and daughters grieving the losses of the men in their lives.6 In the wake of her own losses, along with the collective grief that filled the city, she saw the potential of reclaiming the color black to reflect power as opposed to weakness and despair. In the 1930s, caught in the midst of an economic crisis and outbreak of WWII, she closed her shop. She did, however, continue along her path of superficial relationships with high-profile men, and in 1940 she became involved with Nazi military officer Hans Gunther Von Dincklage. By using him, she was able to continue solidifying her presence among the elite, as high society was becoming largely occupied by German officials. Yet her fascination with fame was not her only motive in getting involved with the Nazi party. In 1924, the Jewish Wertheimer family had financed and assisted her in launching her most profitable creation yet, the line of Chanel No. 5 fragrances. Per their initial agreement, they were to receive most of the profits, and Chanel resented them for it. In fact, as laws

⁶ Kay Whitfield, “Coco Chanel-the Little Black Dress,” Classic Chicago Magazine, Oct. 25, 2020.

forced Jews out of business and eliminated their rights, Chanel saw the opportunity to seize her own stake and build an empire.7 While this agreement was built on fair terms, Chanel hoped to use the villainization of Jewish people as a reason to strip the Wertheimer family of their profits from a creation that would not have been possible without them.

Despite never being charged, potentially due to her personal ties and

⁷ Tim Ott, “Coco Chanel’s Secret Life as a Nazi Agent,” Biography, June 15, 2020. friendship to Winston Churchill, recent declassified government documents prove her work with Nazi military intelligence.8 She was registered as Agent F-7124, carrying out several undercover missions to obtain political information, until she was outed as a German spy in 1944. After being interrogated, she fled to Switzerland, residing there for nearly 10 years before making her return to Paris. Despite the clear admission of guilt from fleeing the country, and having lied about her involvement in a sworn testimony, she was never convicted in the eyes of the law. She worked extensively to erase all evidence of her connection to the Nazi party, even going as far as paying off the medical bills of a dying German SS officer after hearing his plans to release a tell-all memoir.9 She was never mentioned as an agent. At age 70, she made her return to the fashion industry, partially because the sales of her fragrance alone were not enough to keep profits high, and she needed the allure of the runway to maintain her position at the top of haute couture. Others claimed “it was Chanel’s personal hatred of the homosexual designers, who, in the ‘50s, dominated Paris couture.”10 When debuting her comeback collection in 1954, she was met with criticism, as the French press and audience disapproved of her actions during the war. Yet this condemnation was short-lived, and her designs were still a hit among British and American audiences. She died on Jan. 10, 1971, at her apartment in Hotel Ritz.

While it remains true that Coco Chanel was an influential figure in women’s fashion and culture, when we reflect on those we previously revered, we must remember to observe all facets of their lives. There is virtue in her designs—in her ability to seize the cultural moment and trailblaze through the fashion industry. Yet her talent as a designer cannot overshadow the fatal flaws she possessed and the horrors she supported. Despite her deeply anti-Semitic and homophobic past, Chanel became an incredibly commercialized figure—with a fascination from fans rooted in unawareness. There is a difference between acknowledging the cultural value and craftsmanship of a label, and glorifying the designer behind it. As famous figures are so often put on a pedestal, we must make a conscious effort to acknowledge the reality that lies outside our direct line of sight. The story of Chanel is complex: one of darkness and deceit cloaked by glamour. When unveiled, we see a lone woman, consumed by grief and ego, who valued her reputation so much that she would do anything, and use anyone, to maintain it. ■

⁹ Ibid. 10 Colin McDowell, “Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (18831971),” The Business of Fashion, Nov. 18, 2021.