Chanel products are nowadays considered to be the icon of style and elegance. The new approach of Coco Chanel, aimed at pure, simple beauty and elegance, has influenced many of the fashion lines and designers of the whole world. For already a century Chanel impresses the clients and the critics with absolutely elegant products of perfect taste.
Today Chanel SA is a world-known company, that specializes in luxury goods (clothes and cosmetics, bags and perfumes). The name of the company is called one of the best-recognized among the customers all over the world. The company is privately held by Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer, and among the people working for Chanel SA we can name such stars, as Carl Lagerfeld (the present-day chief designer), Catherine Deneuve, Audrey Tautou, , Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley and Marilyn Monroe – all the women were or are the faces, representing the Chanel fashion house or different brands of it.
he history of one of the greatest fashion empires started in 1909 at 31 Rue Cambon, Paris. This is the place, where the first Chanel shop was opened. At that times the shop was able to sell only decorated women hats, for the shop was located near a more famous fashion clothes shop, selling dresses. However, these restrictions could not stop Coco Chanel from creation. After the years of World War I, when Coco used to design and sell quite practical women sportswear, time came for the most remarkable creations by Coco.
1921 was the year of Chanel No5, the best seller in the world of perfume. Named in honour of Chanel’s lucky number, the scent really brought its owner to the peak of popularity. In 1924 Parfums Chanel was founded, and though Coco owned only 10% of the company, it did a lot for perfume production in the world. Some of its fragrances, such as Pour Monsieur or Coco Mademoiselle, have become the ideals for perfume-creators, the unsurmountable and unforgettable examples of perfect fragrances. "We introduce a new fragrance every 10 years, not every three minutes like many competitors. We don't confuse the consumer. With Chanel, people know what to expect. And they keep coming back to us, at all ages, as they enter and leave the market." – says the marketing director of the company, and we must acknowledge, the strategy is really fruitful.
In 1926 the little black dress followed, bringing Coco to the top of designers fame. Her cardigans and elegant dresses, blazers and jewelry designs become unbelievably popular. Though accused of collaboration with the Nazis in world War II times, Coco managed to continue working in the post-war period and died in 1971, not stopping her work till the last day of her life.
Though the modern strategy of the company has changed, and the artistic concepts of the company have changed with the times (and with new designers), still the passionate spirit of Coco Chanel makes the products of the company forever charming and elegant.
