VENICE - 50 years after the death of Coco Chanel, the woman who revolutionized the fashion, design and popular culture of the 20th century, here is a journey to the places that influenced her style and her long and intense life.
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, better known as Coco, was born on August 19, 1883 in
Saumur
, in the French Loire region.
Entrusted since childhood to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Aubazine, she was struck by the austere black and white dresses of the nuns, which influenced her way of dressing and her future and distinctive conception of fashion.
At 18 she went to work as a saleswoman in the Maison Grampayre workshop in
Moulins
, where he attended a club as a singer with the nickname of "Coco";
here she began to meet that changed her life: she fell in love with Étienne de Balsan, the son of textile entrepreneurs, who invited her to move to his castle in Royallieu, financing her first hat creations which, in great demand, pushed her to Paris.
He moved to the French capital in 1908 and, 6 years later, to Deauville, the fashionable city of the Belle Époque where he opened his first shops.
In 1916 he went to live in
Biarritz
where he inaugurated a high fashion salon and where he bought the prestigious Villa Larralde.
In an unconventional way he created sporty models with simple and soft lines, influencing French fashion;
her jersey garments for skirts, pullovers and cardigans became a distinctive model and began to travel around the world.
It was in this period that the petite robe noire was born, her famous little black dress, capable of making every woman equal to the others but with style and elegance.
In Biarritz, mademoiselle Chanel established herself as a designer and also found love, falling in love with Boy Capel, a refined British polo player.
These were years of success and great creativity: in
Paris
, at 31 rue de Cambon, he opened his first boutique under the Chanel Modes sign where he also created a line of costume jewelery and bags, including a model that is still the most copied to the world.
Here was also born the famous Chanel No.5 perfume, a fragrance that is still considered one of the best ever created.
But the series of lucky events was interrupted by the loss of her beloved Boy Capel, who disappeared in an accident: Mademoiselle Chanel decided to get away from her world, taking a trip to
Venice
, a city she loved deeply and from which she drew comfort and inspiration.
He landed in the lagoon in August, first taking refuge at the Danieli hotel (but he also often stayed at the Des Bains on the Lido), with an incomparable view of the Grand Canal and from where he walked to Piazza San Marco and the gardens of the Biennale.
He discovered a great interest in the arts and architecture and very soon conquered the artistic and aristocratic circles of the city.
Venice represented for Chanel the passage from the period of mourning to the light: she loved the Lido beach, strolling through the narrow streets of the most hidden Venice, admiring paintings by famous Renaissance artists, meeting in the cafes of the center with friends - the Florian but also Harry's Bar - and take part in grand masked balls in the most luxurious Venetian palaces.
Of the city he even loved the statues of the two lions that guarded the ancient shipyard of the Serenissima at the Arsenale;
the lion soon became his lucky animal and since 1951 the emblem of the maison.
Of the many Venetian monuments, Coco was particularly bewitched by the Basilica of San Marco, whose opulence of Byzantine domes, gold and mosaics influenced her aesthetic sense and the creation of her jewels.
In 1924 he met Bendor Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster with whom he made a crossing of the Mediterranean aboard a yacht: during the cruise he visited villages and cities between Provence and the French Riviera, such as Marseille and Antibes, whose light influenced his style à la marinière.
During their relationship which lasted 5 years, they lived between
London
, in the prestigious Mayfair district, and the French Riviera in the villa "La Pausa" in
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
.
In August 1929 Chanel returned to Venice to organize the funeral of her close friend Serge Diaghilev, impresario of Russian ballet: the religious function took place in the church of San Giorgio dei Greci, a wonderful and elegant Greek Orthodox monument that once again influenced the mademoiselle style, seduced by its simplicity and intimacy.
In 1931 Chanel was attracted by the cinema and decided to go to
Hollywood
, hired by the film producer Samuel Goldwyn to make the costumes to be used in his films.
There was little, however, and he returned to the United States only after the Second World War, in 1953, flying to New York.
The designer disappeared at the age of 87 on 10 January 1971 in Paris, in her suite at the Hôtel Ritz on Place Vendôme, where she had lived alone for decades. His legendary home at 31 rue Cambon in Paris became a historical monument in 2013 and in 2020 was partly sold at an online charity auction with 191 unique pieces. For 2021, 50 years after his death, commemorative events, exhibitions and fashion shows are planned, waiting to enter 19M, Chanel's Manufacture de la Mode in Paris. In fact, at the Porte d'Aubervilliers, in the northeast of the capital, there will be a large building designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti, former author of the MuCEM of Marseille and of the Islamic Arts Department of the Louvre. The 5-storey building, intended to group the artisan houses in a single place, is an exostructure consisting of 24-meter-high white concrete filaments that recall the fibers of the fabric, that is the essence of fashion. Inside there is also a large exhibition area and there will be an open place where artisans, students and lovers of art and fashion can meet.
