Keira Knightley as Coco Chanel
I am a massive Chanel fan, so quite excited to see this short film “Once Upon A Time” by Karl Lagerfeld – all about the amazing and crazy life of Gabrielle Coco Chanel. I think Keira Knightley is a great choice for the role.
What did you think? What a life! Did you see my Designer Love – Chanel blog post all about her life and the classic Chanel brand?
Have a fab afternoon and I shall be back soon 
xx
Designer Love – Givenchy
Afternoon all. Did you see my recent Designer Love – Chanel and Designer Love – Dior posts on the blog recently? As you may know, I am going to be dedicating a series of blog posts to my favourite classic designers and this third post of the series is for Givenchy.
Born in 1927, Count Hubert de Givenchy, is a French Aristocrat and fashion designer who opened and ran the House of Givenchy in 1952 until he retired in 1995. Givenchy is most famous for creating practically all of Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe as well as dressing Jackie Kennedy on a regular basis.
The Givenchy family was ennobled in 1713, at which time the head of the family became marquis of Givenchy. Givenchy’s father died of influenza in 1930 after which time he and his elder brother were raised by their mother and grandmother. The older brother, Jean Claude de Givenchy inherited the family’s marquessate and eventually became the president of Parfums Givenchy.
Impressed by the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris, Givenchy wanted to go into fashion and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His first designs were for Jacques Fath in 1945, and he later designed for Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong (1946) — working alongside Christian Dior. From 1947 to 1951 he worked for the avantgarde designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
Givenchy dress 1956 via Flickr
In 1952, The House of Givenchy opened and he named his first collection Bettina Graziani - Paris’s top model at the time. His style was marked by innovativeness, contrary to the more conservative designs by Dior. At 25, he was the youngest designer of the progressive Paris fashion scene and his first collections were characterized by the use of rather cheap fabrics for financial reasons, but they always piqued curiosity through their design.
The most famous ambassador of the Givenchy brand was Audrey Hepburn who wore Givenchy in films such as Sabrina, How to Steal a Million and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey – “Balenciaga once said the secret of elegance is elimination. I believe that. That’s why I love Hubert Givenchy… They’re clothes without ornament, with everything stripped away.”
The House of Givenchy was split in 1981, with the perfume line going to Veuve Clicquot, while the fashion branch went to LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), and now LVMH owns both Veuve Clicquot and Parfums Givenchy. LVMH is a French multinational apparels and accessories company who own various luxury brands including Givenchy and Christian Dior.
After Givenchy’s retirement in 1995 John Galliano took over, but was quickly promoted to Christian Dior less than two years later, which led to the hiring of Alexander McQueen. In 2001, designer Julien Macdonald was appointed Artistic Director for the women’s lines. The reins were ultimately passed on to Riccardo Tisci in 2005 when he was named chief designer of womenswear. Reviews on Tisci are mixed due to his apparent fascination with gothic touches and space-age minimalism, but attention is being drawn to the brand and critics still believe there is potential to revitalize the brand.
After that bit of history, I thought I would share a few more of my favourite Givenchy photos with you. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Givenchy, so should not just keep them to myself!
What do you think – are you a fan of Givenchy? Did you know all of this about him? I know I didn’t – especially about him being a Count. What about the photos – which is your favourite? I love the ones of him with Audrey Hepburn.
Have a good afternoon and I shall be back soon xx
Historical information via Wikipedia.
Designer Love – Christian Dior
Afternoon all. Did you see Designer Love – Chanel on the blog recently? As mentioned in that post I am going to be dedicating a series of blog posts to my favourite classic designers and this second post of the series is for the iconic Christian Dior.
French fashion designer Christian Dior was born near the coast of Normandy, France in 1905 and died fairly young in 1957. Dior’s family wanted him to become a diplomat, but he was far to creative for this and had an interest in fashion from a very young age. To make money he sold his fashion sketches outside his house for 10 cents each!
In 1928 Dior left school and opened a small art gallery with a friend, after receiving money from his father, where they sold art by the likes of Pablo Picasso! The gallery had to be closed after only three years after Dior’s mother and brother died and his father lost their family business in the financial crisis. Dior then worked with fashion designer Robert Piguet, until he was called up for military service in 1940.
Dior left the Army in 1942 and joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong. During World War II, Dior, as an employee of Lelong — who worked to preserve the French fashion industry during the war — designed dresses for the wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators, as did other fashion houses that remained open during the war.
Whilst Dior was dressing Nazi women, his sister Catherine (1917—2008) was living in stark contrast serving as a member of the French Resistance. Catherine was captured by the Nazi’s and sent to a concentration camp where she was imprisoned until May 1945. The Miss Dior Parfum was named after Catherine Dior.
The Christian Dior fashion house was founded by Dior in December of 1946, and backed by cotton and fabric magnate Marcel Boussac. The first collection, presented in early 1947, is now famously known as the “New Look”. This was not however the original name but later labelled so by Carmel Snow, editor and chief of Harpers Bazaar. The original name was was “Corolle” - literally the botanical term corolla or circlet of flower petals in English.
Dior’s designs were more voluptuous than the fabric conserving shapes of the recent World War II styles, influenced by the rations on fabric. Creating shapes and silhouettes was what Dior did best and is quoted as saying “I have designed flower women.” He used fabrics lined mostly with percale, boned, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form.
To start with women were not happy that his designs covered up their legs, which they had been unused to because of the recent fabric rations. They soon came around however and the “New Look” is said to have revolutionized women’s dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after the War.
Dior expanded out of France in 1949 and by the end of the year Dior made up 75% of Paris’s fashion exports and 5% of France’s total export revenue. In 1950, Jacques Rouët (manager of Dior) devised a licensing program to place the name of Christian Dior on a variety of luxury goods, such as neck-ties, handbags, jewellery and scarves. It was denounced as a degrading action for the haute-couture image. Nevertheless, it became profitable and began a trend which all couture houses followed.
Dior died on 23 October 1957 of his third heart attack whilst on holiday in Italy. The exact circumstances are still unknown – some reports say that he died of a heart attack after choking on a fish bone, others after playing a game of cards and another after a strenuous sexual encounter!
After that bit of history, I thought I would share a few more of my favourite Christian Dior photos with you. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Dior, so should not just keep them to myself!
What do you think – are you a Dior fan? Did you know all of this about him? I have certainly learnt a lot and although not as scandalous as Coco Chanel, still what a life!
What about the photos – which is your favourite? As with the Chanel ones I always love the vintage photos and how amazing is this last image – a fabulous floral catwalk space.
Have a good afternoon and I shall be back soon xx
Historical information via Wikipedia.
Designer Love – Chanel
Afternoon all. Writing a fashion blog it should come as no surprise that I am interested in fashion, old and new. There is something so romantic about the early classics such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior and I am therefore going to be dedicating a series of blog post to them – starting with Chanel. I have learnt a lot about her whilst researching this post – such an amazing life (good and bad) – so I hope you enjoy it.
French fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel was born in August 1883 and died in January 1971. Coco began her career as a seamstress and later in around 1908 started designing hats. She then opened her first boutique in 1913 where she started to introduce clothing to her lines.
In 1924 “Parfums Chanel” was created, but Coco licensed her name to the company and only owned 10% of the stock – she spent the next 20 years trying regain control.
By 1935, Coco had become a regular drug user and injected morphine on a daily basis until the end of her life in 1971. It was even said that Chanel was “called Coco because she threw the most fabulous cocaine parties in Paris”.
Chanel moved in the highest levels of British aristocracy and was thought to have had relationships with the then Duke of Westminster and the Prince of Wales, Edward VIII. Despite various long term relationships Chanel never married and when asked why she didn’t marry the Duke of Westminster she replied “There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel.”
From 1931, for the equivalent today of 75 million dollars, Chanel went to Hollywood twice a year to design costumes for the MGM film stars. Her reviews were mixed and Chanel’s verdict was that “Hollywood is the capital of bad taste… and it is vulgar”!
At the beginning of World War II Chanel closed her shops saying “it was not a time for fashion”. In closing her couture house, Chanel made a definitive statement of her political views and her strong loathing of Jews. The War provided Chanel with the opportunity to regain the fortune generated by “Parfums Chanel” (mentioned above) and its most profitable product, Chanel No. 5. The directors of “Parfums Chanel,” the Wertheimers, were Jewish, and Chanel used her position as an “Aryan” to petition German officials to legalize her claim to sole ownership.
Chanel did not know however that the Wertheimers, anticipating the Nazi seizures had legally turned control of “Parfums Chanel” over to a Christian, French businessman and industrialist. The Wertheimers and Chanel eventually came to an agreement – they would pay her living expenses for the rest of her life and give her 2% of the company, which was enough to make her one of the richest women in the world.
Chanel was a Nazi spy during the War but after interrogation by the French, they had to let her go as there was no documented evidence. It is widely thought that she was freed on the instructions of Winston Churchill. It was feared that if Chanel were ever made to testify too many important people would be exposed, including the Royal Family.
In 1945 Chanel moved to Switzerland and did not return to Paris until 1954 when, at over 70 years old, she re-established her couture house. Her new collection was not received well in Paris as they thought she was tainted by her War time Nazi associations, but the British and Americans loved it and continued to be her loyal customers. At 87 years old, and still working, Chanel died at the Hotel Ritz where she had resided for over 30 years.
As well as the timeless fashion and inspiration Coco Chanel left behind, she also left behind a vast array of quotes that are re-used throughout the world on a daily basis.
After that bit of history, I thought I would share a few more of my favourite Chanel photos with you. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Chanel, so should not just keep them to myself!
What do you think – are you a Chanel fan? Did you know all of this about her? I had no idea about a lot of it – especially the Nazi spy stuff – what a life!
What about the photos – which is your favourite? I love the old ones of Coco and this bottom photo of the vintage Chanel jewellery is cool. I would also love a dog that brought me Chanel bags!
Have a good day and I shall be back soon xx
Historical information via Wikipedia.
