Chanel, a film by Eila Hershon and Roberto Guerra, documents the life of the founder of the House of Chanel from her humble beginnings as a seamstress in a French orphanage to her dynamic success as a fashon icon of international prominence. Archival footage shows interviews with the great lady, as well as her successor, Karl Lagerfield, as he continues to bring refreshing designs in the Chanel tradition.
Coco Chanel was born on August 19, 1883, the daughter of Jeanne Devolle and Albert Chanel, in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. After her mother died of tuberculosis, she and her siblings were shuffled around, and eventually came to reside at a Catholic orphanage in Aubazine. Her dressmaking talents were sharpened by working with the nuns, and her skills provided her with a foundation and style that would shape the destiny of woman's apparel.
The core of Coco's life was work and love, and she pursued them both with unrelenting passion. Her independent spirit would seduce the noblest of men, and her devotion gave her the courage to bear the torment of lost love. She professed, "There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time. " She had many lovers, but never married. And, instead of raising children, she raised an empire which still bears her name today.
"Fashion passes, style remains," said Chanel, who was responsible for creating comfortable, loose-fitting sportswear for the leisure set. She took the ease of jersey fabric, used exclusively for men's underwear, and transformed it into stylish ladies suits; and, she took relaxed men's fashions and turned them into casual elegant women's attire for seashore and country. She was influenced by the mariners of the sea and introduced pea jackets and bell-bottomed pants to the fashion world. She was known for her "little black dress," a color customarily used for mourning. In 1920, the fashion diva introduced designer perfume to the market with her famous Chanel No. 5; and, she claimed that one should use perfume "whenever one wants to be kissed." Quilted handbags would bear her signature logo, and fashionable imitation jewelry and accessories would become her trademark. Her clothes would dress all women from the most elegant haute couture to the simplest casual riding wear.
Coco's life and lovers were public and controversial. World War II brought a halt to her designing ambitions and she exiled to Switzerland. Her return to the industry in 1954 was snubbed in France, but her fashions became the envy of the Americans and British. Her designs took front stage in Hollywood movies, adorning such greats as Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn and were a basic in Jackie Kennedy's wardrobe.
From her humble beginnings in 1913 as a millinery shop in Paris, she later expanded to Deauville, Biarritz, and eventually opened her couture house in Paris at 31 Rue Cambon, which headquarters her boutiques throughout the world. Always a survivor, she poured herself into her work adorning and gracing women's fashions with the most luxurious and simplistic women's garments of her time. As the woman who created the "most famous look in the world," she worked inexhaustably until her death at the age 87. She died in her Parisian Ritz apartment of a heart attack on January 11, 1971, while working on her spring collection, which gained great success posthumously at its showing.
Chanel haute couture design was placed in the hands of Karl Lagerfield in 1983. He said he was always inspired by Chanel and studied and kept a collection of her designs. The House of Chanel remains a legend as does its founder, Coco Chanel, a modern woman of her time, who claimed, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
Chanel bonuses include a Picture Gallery which displays 30 photographs of her life and designs. The Trailer gives mini-documentaries on artists Newton, Oldenburg and Manet. The text "Impressum," by Katharina Helwig, English translation by Melita Dahl, gives further insight into the life and times of this Modern personality.
English subtitles were only offered during foreign language segments, but it would be convenient to have them throughout the documentary as well.
