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Mademoiselle Coco Chanel

Article Overview: In her inner circle of friends, fashion designer Coco Chanel was known as ‘Mademoiselle’. Over her fifty-odd year career of running her own business, she came to be considered as the ‘Grande Mademoiselle’ of both the fashion industry and high society. Coco Chanel not only revolutionized what women wore, but also the roles they were supposed to play in society.

Mademoiselle Coco Chanel

In her inner circle of friends, fashion designer Coco Chanel was known as ‘Mademoiselle’. Over her fifty-odd year career of running her own business, she came to be considered as the ‘Grande Mademoiselle’ of both the fashion industry and high society. Coco Chanel not only revolutionized what women wore, but also the roles they were supposed to play in society.

Through her clothes, Chanel wanted to celebrate the freedom and equality of women. By playing with simple designs and typically ‘masculine’ fabrics, she offered an alternative to the more constraining women’s fashion at the time. By the mid-1920s, corsets were out; a popular ‘Chanel look’ had been adopted, consisting of a wool jersey suit with a full-cut, short skirt, and a straight, collarless jacket.

The designer herself was the embodiment of this new look. By using unconventional models and appealing to fashion magazines, the designer forced the fashion industry to accept her more masculine designs. She was no longer simply about creating stylish hats and designer threads. She had done something bigger – she had created a new way of life, and in so doing, laid the foundation for the coming women’s liberation.

However foolish it was, and however much business sense it didn’t make at the time, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel refused to follow the fashion trends dictated to her by the society in which she lived. Instead, she focused on designs that she would actually want to wear. Her influence and ability to impact new trends was soon unparalleled. A simple trip to Venice, Italy, in which Mademoiselle Coco Chanel wore bell-bottom trousers in order to be able to better climb out of the gondolas would soon start the pants revolution for women.

Everything that this designer did was meant to emphasize an alternative way of living. Much liker her simpler style of dress, her celebrated Chanel No. 5 perfume was unique for its time. Not only was its name basic, but so too was the design of its bottle, with its rectangular lines and cut stopper. She would not have any of the ornate and romantic bottles so popular at the time.

“I did not go into society because I had to design clothes,” she once remarked. “I designed clothes precisely because I did go into society. Because I was the first to live the life of this century.”

It was with this legacy in mind that in 2001, under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld, the House of Chanel introduced Coco Chanel Mademoiselle. Known as the younger sister to the more grown-up fragrances, Coco Chanel Mademoiselle is aimed at the younger generation of independent fashionistas. It is described as, “A light sensual fragrance, a luminous sophisticated fragrance, a modern interpretation!”

Chanel was a woman ahead of her time. This younger fragrance is meant to provide the same sense of empowerment and freedom that the designer tried to infuse throughout her collection in her own time.

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Article Tags: bell bottom trousers, business sense, chanel no 5, coco chanel, designer coco chanel, designer threads, embodiment, fashion designer, fashion industry, fashion magazines, fashion trends, freedom and equality, gondolas, inner circle, mademoiselle coco, mid 1920s, short skirt, stylish hats, venice italy, womens liberation



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Re: Ideas For Business - [quote="Lucy Wu":1jgzn2hg] And here’s our plan so far: 1. We buy our products at "Costco" and sell them for higher price. 2. We play live music to entertain people. 3. We need to find a good location for this. (Which we do not know yet where, but any suggestions would be helpful. We are located in Toronto)[/quote:1jgzn2hg] 1. I like the hot Coco and Apple Cider idea. If you can wear clothing to go with a theme (like Carolers during Christmas) you will get more attention. 2. The weather is getting colder in Toronto - Are you sure you and your partner are up to playing live music outdoors? 3. distillery district, Nathan Philips Square, Subways stations (need TTC vendor license and it's warmer), in fact any public/Tourist ice rink (Mel Lastman Sq, Harbour Front, Nathan Philips) I hope you can spend some more thought on this idea. Look for something that you are passionate about but there is a "screaming want" in the Toronto market. Also the idea should be duplicate-able.. what do I mean - well it should not have to depend on you being present to have the business run. Selling Hot Coco and Apple Cider only is duplicate-able because you just have to show someone how to do it once and they can now do it in multiple locations. Warning about the idea though: Canadians can be very skeptical about purchasing food products that are sold in public and not out of a retail store - how do I know - I just asked 10 random people here in the office that live downtown and all 10 said they would never even consider purchasing it in that fashion - it's not the Idea - It's just a "trust" thing.
Profile: Essie Weingarten, creator of Essie Cosmetics - Pop culture has its share of dynamic duos: Batman & Robin, Dolce & Gabbana, Brad & Angelina, and, as devotees of Essie Cosmetics' nail polish know, "Baby's Breath" & "Ballet Slippers." And what's Essie Weingarten, creator of Essie Cosmetics, wearing right now? Why it's "Mademoiselle" paired with one coat of "Pink Glove Service,"of course! It's this playful take on fashionable colors and color combos, coupled with Essie's chip-resistant formula, that has converted beauty professionals and customers into adoring fans and secured Essie Cosmetics' position in the $1 billion nail industry. As a little girl in Queens, NY, Essie was undoubtedly the youngest customer at local nail salons. A manicure was a reward her parents indulged her with on special occasions, and she relished the experience. She did, however, eventually grow bored with the limited selection of nail polish colors, and imagined that other women felt the same way. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology, she worked for Geraldine Stutz, the visionary behind Henri Bendel; Essie admired Geraldine's business acumen and was determined to learn from her mentor. Following a few more years in the fashion industry, Essie decided to address the nail polish niche that still remained untapped. In 1981, Essie launched her business in Queens by introducing 12 new polish shades that have since become classics in the nail industry. Twenty-six years later, she is still on top of her game and has transformed Essie Cosmetics into a $150 million empire. what we learned from essie: You have to find what works for you. You cannot overextend yourself. It's very important that you know exactly what you can handle before you get into it. making moves "I wanted more. My stint in the fashion world was done. It was time for me to move on and do something on my own. 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