September 2023 Group Meeting Report
All most of us knew about Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was that she was the designer behind a famous international fashion house and perfume brand but at our September meeting Delia Taylor gave us a fully clothed picture of the woman – warts and all! Her reinvention from a desperately poor illegitimate child, born in Saumur in 1883 and brought up in an Orphanage to the doyen of the fashion milieu and feted by giants of the world of the arts and her many aristocratic admirers is astonishing. Delia played us the song ‘She’ sung by famous French singer Charles Aznavour which depicted the character of this complex woman.
A skill central to her progress was sewing, taught during her years at the orphanage, allowing her to find work as a seamstress when she left aged 18. She acquired the nickname ‘Coco’ whilst singing in burlesque clubs ......as well as the attention of an ex-cavalry officer called Etienne Balson whose home was a chateau where she lived in luxury – it helped that his family money was in textiles so he was able to support her budding millinery business. She dumped him for his best friend Edward ‘Boy’ Taylor. Chanel was with him for 9 years until he died in a car crash, leaving her lots of money. During this time she opened her first boutique, cannily arranging for her sisters to model her hats as they walked through the town. More shops followed and 31 Rue Cambon is still the flagship Paris store. Designing trousers for women, shocking at that time, Chanel had also discovered the softness and versatility of jersey which was featured in her first fashion show in 1916.
A patron of the arts and designer of dance costumes, Chanel was feted by the likes of Diagaleve, Igor Stravinsky (who she supported financially), Salvador Dali, the cubist painter David Hinds, the artist Pierre Reverdy who became her lover, as did a grand duke who reputedly murdered Rasputin. During this time she met perfumier Ernest Beaux, working together to create the famous perfume Chanel No 5 launched in 1920. Moving steadily through the ranks of the titled, she became the mistress of Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster and possibly Edward, Prince of Wales. Around this time her elegant ‘little black dress’ and iconic suits appeared. It is said that Chanel held the best parties in Paris where plenty of drugs were available – Chanel was a long time drug addict.
The thirties were challenging years. Her close friend set designer Paul Iribe died of a heart attack, her employees went on strike for better conditions, rival Elsa Schiaparelli became greatly admired and WW2 commenced. Closing all her stores, Chanel moved into the Ritz - which was also the residence of German High Command where characters such as Goebbels and Himmler were welcomed....and Chanel became a German spy, described by some as a ‘horizontal collaborator’. Despite being arrested she managed to move to Switzerland, all her living expenses being paid for by former business partners the Wertheimer family.
Chanel died on 10 January 1971 at The Ritz, Paris and is not only remembered for her fashion empire but also for her pithy quotes such as ‘My life didn’t please me, so I created my life’ – ‘If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack’ – ‘You live but once, you might as well be amusing’. Chanel did not wait for opportunities to come along – she made them happen with steely self regard and total self belief – frequently unsentimentally trampling on the supine bodies of rejected friends and lovers on her way to her next venture.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 4th October - Kent in the Nineteenth Century. How the political, social and industrial changes affected the citizens of Kent. Presented by Bob Ogley.
Members £2 Visitors £3. Everyone welcome. No need to book.
7.00pm for 7.30 pm start at THE ALEXANDRA SUITE, St. Mary’s Road, Swanley, BR8 7BU
Further information- email [email protected]
Programme may be subject to change at short notice if circumstances change.
All most of us knew about Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was that she was the designer behind a famous international fashion house and perfume brand but at our September meeting Delia Taylor gave us a fully clothed picture of the woman – warts and all! Her reinvention from a desperately poor illegitimate child, born in Saumur in 1883 and brought up in an Orphanage to the doyen of the fashion milieu and feted by giants of the world of the arts and her many aristocratic admirers is astonishing. Delia played us the song ‘She’ sung by famous French singer Charles Aznavour which depicted the character of this complex woman.
A skill central to her progress was sewing, taught during her years at the orphanage, allowing her to find work as a seamstress when she left aged 18. She acquired the nickname ‘Coco’ whilst singing in burlesque clubs ......as well as the attention of an ex-cavalry officer called Etienne Balson whose home was a chateau where she lived in luxury – it helped that his family money was in textiles so he was able to support her budding millinery business. She dumped him for his best friend Edward ‘Boy’ Taylor. Chanel was with him for 9 years until he died in a car crash, leaving her lots of money. During this time she opened her first boutique, cannily arranging for her sisters to model her hats as they walked through the town. More shops followed and 31 Rue Cambon is still the flagship Paris store. Designing trousers for women, shocking at that time, Chanel had also discovered the softness and versatility of jersey which was featured in her first fashion show in 1916.
A patron of the arts and designer of dance costumes, Chanel was feted by the likes of Diagaleve, Igor Stravinsky (who she supported financially), Salvador Dali, the cubist painter David Hinds, the artist Pierre Reverdy who became her lover, as did a grand duke who reputedly murdered Rasputin. During this time she met perfumier Ernest Beaux, working together to create the famous perfume Chanel No 5 launched in 1920. Moving steadily through the ranks of the titled, she became the mistress of Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster and possibly Edward, Prince of Wales. Around this time her elegant ‘little black dress’ and iconic suits appeared. It is said that Chanel held the best parties in Paris where plenty of drugs were available – Chanel was a long time drug addict.
The thirties were challenging years. Her close friend set designer Paul Iribe died of a heart attack, her employees went on strike for better conditions, rival Elsa Schiaparelli became greatly admired and WW2 commenced. Closing all her stores, Chanel moved into the Ritz - which was also the residence of German High Command where characters such as Goebbels and Himmler were welcomed....and Chanel became a German spy, described by some as a ‘horizontal collaborator’. Despite being arrested she managed to move to Switzerland, all her living expenses being paid for by former business partners the Wertheimer family.
Chanel died on 10 January 1971 at The Ritz, Paris and is not only remembered for her fashion empire but also for her pithy quotes such as ‘My life didn’t please me, so I created my life’ – ‘If you’re sad, add more lipstick and attack’ – ‘You live but once, you might as well be amusing’. Chanel did not wait for opportunities to come along – she made them happen with steely self regard and total self belief – frequently unsentimentally trampling on the supine bodies of rejected friends and lovers on her way to her next venture.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 4th October - Kent in the Nineteenth Century. How the political, social and industrial changes affected the citizens of Kent. Presented by Bob Ogley.
Members £2 Visitors £3. Everyone welcome. No need to book.
7.00pm for 7.30 pm start at THE ALEXANDRA SUITE, St. Mary’s Road, Swanley, BR8 7BU
Further information- email [email protected]
Programme may be subject to change at short notice if circumstances change.