-By Justine Picardie
-International Bestseller
A Non-fiction Publication
The signatures of Chanel are fantastical. The enigmas behind her signatures are even more than that. Thank you, Ms. Justine Picardie, for telling the tales of the saga of Chanel. These three signatures of Chanel are given in a whole new light…
The Double C
Chanel found herself in a “love” triangle. In her young life, she loved two different boys at the same time… first there was Balsan then there was her Boy Capel. Both these guys played a hand in the start of her fashion glory. One would cover housing and the shop where she would sell some of her first fashions; the other would handle the daily business costs. And tragedy would ensue with her one beau- giving way to the signature on her collections forever.
Balsan and Boy Capel were very significant in her life as well as her brand. The double C for instance is not a reference to ‘Coco’ Chanel. It is suggested that the double C logo stands for her Boy ‘Capel’ and Chanel… joined by the looping of the c’s but faced away from one another, as Picardie notes in the book. They were really close but as the story goes—not that close.
The Double C Logo
LBD
The Little Black Dress is not a true Chanel creation but it is a creation that Chanel would significantly shape. She thought of fashion in a brave way, a way that was less. She believed that ‘fashion should express the moment’. [Fashion should keep with the mood of the times]. She was not a fan of the luxurious heft of clothes: stiffness, flamboyant designs, layers of layers, excessive lace, rainbow colors – anything that seems extra or too showy. In my opinion, fashion should be whatever your style is… just make it really good. But I do love the fashion perspectives of Chanel. Chic.
Her black philosophy: ‘I IMPOSED BLACK; IT IS STILL GOING STRONG TODAY, FOR BLACK WIPES OUT EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND’. -Coco Chanel
The book reveals to us that black, at a tragic point in Chanel’s life, would impose her. A period of heartbreak. But soon and very soon would she change all that and put a signature on wearing black as power, freedom and the future.
FORD DRESS – The Little Black Dress
-the reconstructed dress was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld
No. 5 The Perfume
Number Five was supposedly Chanel’s lucky number. On her favorite tarot card was the number 5 with a message about a rooted tree and being healthy. …The book wants to get to the bottom of the name. —The name of the fragrance that became iconic. Chanel also may have chosen to name the perfume no. 5 from a few other ‘coincidences’. A dress collection would debut on the fifth month of May on the fifth day. Or, the story that she selected the fifth bottle from the scents (notes) offered her by the chemist -as being the one. Along with a few other speculations for the name, there was mention that Chanel simply thought the number five was pretty.
Whatever the case may be – No. 5 Chanel is a major ‘note’ in the success of this fashion house. The scent was sold (is still sold) all over the world. [Revolutionary- both in its chemistry and in the modern design of its bottle. And its logo and label that needed no translation into different languages]. Amazing. Branding.
Picardie shares with us a lesson in this particular business brand of fashion… ‘This perfume would start what the couturiers (designers) call their “insurance”: money that they make from lending their famous couture names to a perfume that they don’t have to change every season the way they do their clothes collections.’ Legendary.
No. 5 Chanel bottle – by Andy Warhol
To be continued next Wednesday – 12:30 (or 6:30 est. -that’s 12:30 in Paris)