Coco Lancome makeup was a fashion designer known for such now-classic innovations as the woman’s suit, the quilted purse, costume jewelry, and the “little black dress.” She also introduced the phenomenally successful perfume Chanel No. 5. Is the fashion house founded in 1910 by Gabrielle Chanel (affectionately called ‘Coco’ by friends). Chanel created a real revolution in the fashion world with her simple, elegant fashions of timeless appeal. She was one of the first designers to introduce pants for women, and is widely credited as the creator of fashion staple “the little black dress.” Ms. Chanel maintained creative control of the design company until her death in 1971.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. The boutique highlights a selection of work hand-selected by Marino, including three hand-torn paper pieces by Fernando Daza, a series of four Coco Lancome makeup prints by Louis Ellis and two Black Belt by Peter Marino handblown glass vases. Cosmetics are the most accessible Chanel product, with counters in department stores across the world, including Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, Bergdorf Goodman, Hudson’s Bay, and David Jones, Wojooh, John Lewis, Debenhams, Boots as well as its own beauty boutiques. An authentic classic Chanel handbag retails from around US$4,150, while a counterfeit usually costs around US$200.
Because the Balsan flat also was a salon for the French hunting and sporting élite, Chanel had the opportunity to meet their demi-mondaine mistresses who, as such, were women of fashion, upon whom the rich men displayed their wealth – as ornate clothes, jewelry, and hats. Chanel is well known for the perfume Chanel No. 5 and the Chanel Suit. Chanel’s use of jersey fabric produced garments that were comfortable and affordable. Chanel revolutionized fashion – both high fashion and everyday fashion (prêt-à-porter) – by replacing structured-silhouettes, based upon the corset and the bodice, with garments that were functional and at the same time flattering to the woman’s figure. Today, those familiar with Chanel’s name may think “luxury,” pearls, or little black dress when they describe her.
Lancome makeup was born into poverty in the French countryside; her mother died, and her father abandoned her to an orphanage. After a brief stint as a shopgirl, Chanel worked for a few years as a café singer. She later became associated with a few wealthy men and in 1913, with financial assistance from one of them, Arthur (“Boy”) Capel, opened a tiny millinery shop in Deauville, France, where she also sold simple sportswear, such as jersey sweaters. Within five years her original use of jersey fabric to create a “poor girl” look had attracted the attention of influential wealthy women seeking relief from the prevalent corseted styles. Faithful to her maxim that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury,” Chanel’s designs stressed simplicity and comfort and revolutionized the fashion industry. By the late 1920s the Chanel industries were reportedly worth millions and employed more than 2,000 people, not only in her couture house but also in a perfume laboratory, a textile mill, and a jewelry workshop.
And in 1910, Boy Capel financed her first independent millinery shop, Chanel Modes, at 21 rue Cambon in Paris. Because that locale already housed a dress shop, the business-lease limited Chanel to selling only millinery products, not couture. Two years later 1913, the Deauville and Biarritz couture shops of Coco Chanel offered for sale prêt-à-porter sports clothes for women, the practical designs of which allowed the wearer to play sports.