Fashion & Design

As you begin to read through this informative article about Coco Chanel, give each point a chance to sink in before you move on to the next.

A remarkable woman named Gabrielle Chanel was born in France in 1883. She would become famous with her nickname, an icon of the fashion world and one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Coco Chanel revolutionized haute couture and is still revered today. Her beginnings were humble and she was taught to sew by nuns at the orphanage where she was placed.

The budding designer’s first foray into fashion came when she started to design hats. This led to the opening of her millinery shop in 1910. The career advancement of Coco Chanel was rapid and she opened her first couture house five years later. Women have a lot to thank her for. Not only did she provide an early example of a woman being successful in business, she also was responsible for getting rid of the corset! She sealed a reputation for designing clothes that were simply elegant and stylish but also comfortable.

For the rest of this article, we will discuss the meaning behind what we have learned about this fine woman so far.

Early successes in her range swept through high society, eventually filtering down to the woman in the street. Celebrities and aristocracy flocked to buy her creations, including the famous Coco Chanel suit. She also made the little black dress, as it came to be known, an indispensable item in every woman’s wardrobe. Remarkably, she held the position of Chief Designer for the label until her death in 1971.

The range is not limited to clothes and Coco Chanel expanded into other lucrative enterprises from an early stage. The world famous Chanel no.5 perfume was launched in 1921 and costume jewelry followed three years later. Men would have to wait for their first eau de toilette until 1981 when Antaeus came on the market. Today, the product range includes clothes, accessories, watches, sunglasses and jewelry. The fashion line includes ready to wear. The company is still a big player on the world stage and is successfully led by German designer, Karl Lagerfeld.

The icon has been portrayed on the Broadway stage and on screen. Katherine Hepburn played her in the 1970 musical production of Coco with words and music by Andre Previn and Alan Jay Lerner. A film called Coco Before Chanel is scheduled for release in 2008 and stars French actress Audrey Tatou. It tells the intriguing story of her life before she achieved fame. Coco Chanel, despite an all consuming career also managed to have a very complicated love life. Her enduring legacy however, is the classic designs she brought to women’s fashion.

This article about Coco Chanel is meant to both inform and entertain those who read it. Hopefully, we have accomplished both goals.

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The point of this article about the king of fashion John Galliano is to help you how much influence he has on the fashion scene.

Some creative people are successful from the word go and fashion designer John Galliano is a prime example. He was named Juan Galliano when he was born to Spanish parents in 1960 on the British colony of Gibraltar. The family re-located to London when he was a child. Galliano attended the prestigious St.Martin’s School of Arts there, graduating in fashion design in1984. His graduate collection, which he based on the French Revolution, was a great success and everything was bought.

The young man was well on his way to a stellar career and he launched his own label. He based himself in Paris during the 1990s and was appointed as head designer for the renowned house of Givenchy in 1995. This was indeed an honor as he was the first British designer to take charge of an haute couture company in France. Givenchy came under the control of Christian Dior and the first show for Dior that John Galliano designed was in 1997. His time is now divided between his work for Dior and his own label.

Before we go an further, lets take a moment to review what we have learned so far about this amazing subject. Awards have been heaped on the inventive designer. He was named the British Designer of the Year on three occasions and shared the award in 1997 with Alexander McQueen. The Queen bestowed the CBE (Companion of the British Empire), on him in the 2001 Queen’s Birthday Honors List. His career has been helped by the patronage of some high profile movie stars, including Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman and his creations have graced the red carpet at Academy Award ceremonies. Supermodel Kate Moss has walked the catwalk for John Galliano on many occasions.

The designer does have his critics as well as plaudits, particularly because of his continued use of fur in his designs. The animal rights organization, PETA picked him out for special attention, launching an advertisement campaign against him. His lines have included fur jackets, calfskin and crocodile bag and silk pants with a fur trim.

As one of the most flamboyant designers around, he cannot please all of the people all of the time. A lot of his creations are outlandish in the eyes of the everyday consumer. John Galliano has a very individual vision and extrovert personality in public. He dressed in a black leather outfit and paraded down the catwalk, brandishing a dueling sword at the 2006 Paris Fashion Show. His models had startled the audience by wearing skirts festooned with artificial splashes of blood and painted on skeletons.

The complexities of the subject matter within this article about John Galliano strive to give you a better look at what this subject is all about.

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