Written by @christina_nm
Sold out everywhere, but do fashion enthusiasts and Chanel collectors really know the significance of Coco and the sand? PurseBop’s got your history lesson covered.
Biarritz which is best known as one of the ritziest, chic beach spots in France first became a prestigious vacation destination during WWI. Europe’s elitist resorted to Biarritz for the ultimate luxury retreat. It was there, in her first couture house on a beachfront mansion where Gabrielle Chanel dressed celebrities, royals and nobles. For high French society, Biarritz was the vacation to see and be seen, but for Coco Chanel it was just the beginning of a revolutionary fashion empire. Funded by her then lover, Boy Capel, Cocos house of couture thrived, employing over 60 seamstresses with remarkable growth even surpassing that of her Paris store front.
The Biarritz mansion was not a boutique, but rather a house of couture and the start of what is today the most recognized houses with unparalleled creativity and craftsmanship. The success in Biarritz allowed Chanel to pay Capel back within one year. It is Biarritz where Coco truly experiences her first major victory, financial independence.
This self reliance gave her the opportunity to explore her creativity more freely and take risks other designers wouldn’t dream of. As the war ended and more and more women became widows, she sends a statement that a little black dress is no longer only for mourning, but high fashion. Women all around Europe soon looked to Chanel to dress them, and today women worldwide aspires to dress in classic tweed jackets and knit dresses that are iconic pieces of the brand dating all the way back to Coco herself.
It all started on a beach, in the sand. Coco Sand represents so much more than just a coveted piece of the Chanel SS 2019 collection. This is only the beginning…
Photos courtesy @therealfashionblogger @pursebop
- Pursebop posted 5 years ago
- last edited 5 years ago
