Stop Idolizing Coco Chanel : a shocking history of theft

Coco Chanel is held up as the "inventor of the modern woman" and a classic style icon today. While her personal life story has been told many times over, in many ways, it's only been recently that documents proving her spy work during WWII have been dug up. And even with knowing she has a dishonest past and problematic opinions, history still gives her credit for all of these amazing fashion inventions. As if the lies she told about far more serious things were indicative of the possibility that she might be lying about that as well. So, today we're digging into the major claims Chanel made about her early design work that we still credit her with today: jersey knit and the little black dress. And why she chose to claim these as her own years later. Turns out, there's more than a little suspicious behavior.

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00:00 Early Influencer
03:27 Jersey Knit
09:14 Little Black Dress
14:51 Girl Bossed too close to the sun
23:58 Rebranding
29:10 Taking Credit

[hannayoung]

My gran and few other poor ladies got their stuff stolen by a rich " textile artist", well at age 85 my gran got her revenge. There was big textile expo about this woman and my gran knew that all the ladies had hidden their initials in their original works and told the guide who made what and showed it, next week the expo was shut down and instead there was one about home textiles.

[Bosquecito_de_Laureles]

I’d like to know more about Elsa Schiaparelli. Her designs are just so original and still very much wearable. She is a truly creative designer.

[impish]

Thank you so much for this. I'm a fashion student in university and it really frustrates me to see how many of her unsubstantiated claims are taught as if they were fact. Whenever she's brought up in our curriculum she's talked about as if she singlehandedly invented modern fashion (and her connections to the nazis are barely brushed over). I really appreciate that you did so much research and debunked a lot of those myths.

[sctpoch]

One of the most striking things I've ever read about Coco Chanel is that (paraphrasing) she was anti-Semitic to a degree that was considered unseemly even by the standards of 1930s Europe. Which is astounding when you really think about it.

[zack]

The more I hear about Chanel the more I want to learn about Elsa Schiaparelli, the Wertheimers and Hubert de Givenchy.

[anarey-oktay]

My French teacher grew up in a village in the north of France after the war. She remembered the women in the village who hooked up with German soldiers during the war had their heads shaved as a sign of their collaboration. As a mature woman, was still bitter that, “…not a hair of Coco Chanel’s head was touched.”

[jadedbelle]

I'm a liaison librarian for a fashion faculty, and there are so many Chanel books in our collection. there is an element in the faculty that absolutely worship Chanel. There are so many books that straight up apologise or completely ignore her ww2 actions and other behaviours towards her staff. I've only been in the role 18 months and am working hard to balance out the collection.

[sharonkatope]

Nichole, I appreciate your design videos, but for me this is one of your most important ones. There have been several facts lost to the hype surrounding her career: her anti-Semitism; her pro-Nazi support; her treatment of the women and men responsible for the production of her garments; her claims which obfuscate the origins of fashion trends and her own beginnings. She was a woman ahead (somewhat) of her time in that she knew how to manipulate her public image to suit her purposes. During an interview on television, Karl Lagerfeld was openly critical of her attitude and behavior. Even given that nice women seldom make history, would rather see one that actually did those things that made history. Thanks for your video.

[johannbredendieck]

A suisse investigation found out, that the logo of Chanel was not her invention. It was the logo of the Chateau de Cremat, which was owned by a rich female friend of Gabrielle Chanel. Probably the saw the power of such a logo for a brand like hers and changed her name, so she could use it for her business.

[clotildebesson]

I was a Chanel sales advisor in Paris for a while. And even though I loved my job and the team was wonderful, it was clear to me the brand was struggling to find its modern style with the old fashioned codes of the House, no matter how many there were. People rightfully find the brand outdated, and most of what we sold were the classic handbags and shoes, who were timeless and frankly stunning

[AM-xolr]

I once saw footage of Coco Chanel appearing on a French talk show, where she was bombastic, egotistical and contrary. I particularly remember her aggressive diatribe against the suggestion that a woman could hold her own without wearing perfume. She was born in a time and place when only a man could be regarded as truly successful, accomplished or exceptional and therefore regarded herself as an honorary man, just like other narcissistic self creators who imagined they had escaped or transcended their own sex, like Ayn Rand. She certainly didn't feel any affinity for other women, who were at best, competition.

[wendyreynolds]

Everything I've ever read about Coco Chanel seemed to indicate that she wasn't an especially pleasant person, in general. She sold an image which, I suspect, was really just masking an unhappy person. Oh, and IMO, none of the Chanel scents are pleasant - especially No. 5.

[joiedevivre]

I've never been impressed with Chanel & always felt she was an unscrupulous self-promoter. Elsa Schiaparelli was the true visionary. #TeamSchiaparelli

[alejandramoreno]

I can't deny she had a unique personal style, but she really only designed for her body type, and frankly, designing clothes that are just straight lines and two colours doesn't require a lot of skill. As a person, well, she was a monster.

[cbphillips]

My mother was a fashion model in the 1950's. She always followed the notion of before leaving the house, look in the mirror and remove one item. This applied to jewelry, not clothing. She certainly did not invent this phrase or concept. She worked with many designers. It's impossible to know where the phrase can from. Sadly, she died ten years ago so I cannot ask her. Thank you for an interesting vlog!

[beckstheimpatient]

She was the OG problematic and narcissistic influencer.

[SilverDawnArrow]

I was looking at the Schiaparelli patterns in PoF2 recently and my mum said "oh, is that Chanel?" I was scandalised! Schiaparelli>Chanel

[TimoteoDeBaum]

I noticed rich people often have issues with character. Wealthy in money but dirt poor in personal moral and ethics

[s-o-o-z]

I feel like I just took a long walk through history and was actually sad when the video ended. You are a fabulous historian.

[carolrosecarlson]

I find it amazing that so many people actually are surprised by the lies. You do not gain that type offame or fortune in the fashion industry by being an honest person. Especially in that time of history.