Research Paper
Coco Chanel, a fashion designer, a businesswoman, and a respected figure. She started at
the bottom and now her empire is at the top. Coming from a broken home into million dollar
profits. Coco Chanel has impacted the world by winning the Neiman Marcus fashion Award,
opening her first store, and coming from a shattered childhood.
To begin, Chanel won the Neiman Marcus fashion award, proving she has changed
fashion history. ‘’Recipients of the Neiman Marcus Awards include couturiers, non-Americanbased designers, journalists, manufacturers, and celebrities and style icons who had had a
significant personal influence upon fashion.’’ (McDowell + Neiman Marcus website, 1) Only
significant people receive this award, only if they are impacting the fashion world. Whether it’s
designing something new, or starting the trend of something old. ‘’The award was typically
presented to multiple recipients each year, rather than to a single individual, although Adrian was
the sole winner in 1943, a feat repeated in 1957 by Coco Chanel.’’ (McDowell + Neiman Marcus
website, 2) Coco Chanel made it to that point in 47 years into fashion.
By way of example, ‘’ Coco Chanel opens a namesake boutique selling hats and
women’s clothing in Deauville, a seaside racing resort.’’ (Chanel, 11) ‘’Paris’s elite flee the city
at the outbreak of World War I, many arriving in Deauville having left their wardrobes behind.
Sales of Chanel’s casual, sporty togs spike as women take on more active wartime roles.
Women’s Wear predicts “a great success” for her new sweaters of wool jersey. The chemise
dress makes its first appearance,’’ says (Chanel, 5). Coco Chanel was an icon, she wanted to
make fashion more accessible and casual, but still stylish. She didn’t want just men to wear
active wear she wanted women to have an equal chance of being able to be more than just an
ordinary woman, but an independent soul.
For one thing, ‘’She was afraid that reporters could find out about her extramarital
origins, her mother’s death from asthma and exhaustion or about her father who simply gave up
having passed Gabrielle in a shelter at the age of twelve. Gabrielle even invented her own story
about a cozy and clean house of two strict aunts, who in reality did not exist,’’ explains the
article. (Coco Chanel biography: The woman who changed the fashion world, 1) Chanel didn’t
let her broken childhood affect her future. She took the bad with the good and moved on.
‘’Having learned sewing arts during her six years at Aubazine shelter, Chanel was able to find
employment as a seamstress. When not plying her trade with needle, she sang in a cabaret
frequented by cavalry officers. It was at this time that Gabrielle acquired the name “Coco,” a
name possibly derived from a popular song that she used to sing, or an allusion to the French
word for kept woman ‘cocotte’. As a cafe entertainer, Chanel broadcasted a juvenile allure and
suggestion of a mysterious androgyny, tantalizing the military habitués of the cabaret.’’(Coco
Chanel biography: The woman who changed the fashion world,1)Coco Chanel became role
model for young girls going through a tough time, she can teach so much with her life experience
and how to swipe the pain away with what doing what you love.
Coco Chanel has impacted the world by winning the Neiman Marcus fashion Award,
Opening her first store, creating more than just fashion, and coming from a shattered childhood.
Chanel was more than a designer, she was a dedicated woman. Without Coco Chanel’s influence
I don’t think most fashion designers would be where they are today. If they didn’t have a mentor
like Chanel, then where would they be today? Also we would probably still be wearing big skirts
and wool in summer.