Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on Aug. 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, was a pioneering French fashion designer. After her mother’s death and abandonment by her father, Chanel spent her early life in an orphanage, where she learned to sew. This skill later became instrumental in her career. She started as a singer and adopted the name “Coco”. In 1910, she opened her first hat shop, Chanel Modes, in Paris. By the 1920s had revolutionized women’s fashion. Despite a controversial personal life, Chanel’s influence on fashion is beyond dispute. Her brand, Chanel, remains a prominent fashion house to this day. See photos of Coco Chanel below.
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Coco Chanel, 1910s
Coco Chanel playing golf.
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Coco Chanel, 1917
Coco Chanel and Arthur Capel with Constent Say on the beach in Saint Jean de Luz.
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Coco Chanel, 1924
Hugh Grosvenor at Chester Races with French fashion designer Coco Chanel.
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Coco Chanel, 1928
Winston Churchill and Coco Chanel (C) at a meet of the Duke of Westminster’s boar hounds, the ‘Mimizan Hunt’ near Dampierre, northern France.
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Coco Chanel, 1928
Coco Chanel in 1928.
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Coco Chanel, 1929
Coco Chanel at her home in Fauborg, St Honore in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1929
Coco Chanel in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1929
Coco Chanel wearing a design of her own creation poses in a garden on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1929
Coco Chanel (R) with Lady Abdy at Fanbourg St Honore in France.
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Coco Chanel, 1931
Coco Chanel’s style through the years.
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Coco Chanel, 1931
Coco Chanel posing in her suite at the Hotel Pierre during her first visit to New York City.
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Coco Chanel, 1932
Coco Chanel at a London hotel.
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Coco Chanel, 1936
Coco Chanel in 1936.
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Coco Chane, 1954
Coco Chanel at her Paris salon.
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Coco Chanel, 1958
Coco Chanel is congratulated by French principal dancer Jacques Chazot after presenting her spring collection in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1958
Coco Chanel (C) is congratulated by French principal dancer Jacques Chazot (R) after presenting her springcollection in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1963
Coco Chanel in Paris.
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Coco Chanel, 1964
Coco Chanel at her apartment in France in 1964.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel in the 1960’s.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel in the 1960’s.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel in the 1960s.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel in the 1960s.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel making alterations to a model’s jacket.
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Coco Chanel, 1960s
Coco Chanel’s through the years.