The Arts & Crafts Section

To enhance the essence of my blog, I decided to create a painting that depicts some of Chanel's designs and productions that have become infamous symbols of her work. When one sees the double C logo today, no matter what gender or age, he or she instantly can identify the designer's creation. That type of recognition does not come by so easily, let me tell ya! The background of my artwork is quilted because that is Chanel's trademark handbag design. It is one style that no one can copy and be able to capture the same amount of elegance, class, and vogue that Chanel succeeds in doing.

Here is one of my favorite Chanel bags...can't get any more chic than this ladies!

The Chanel N°5 perfume, launched in 1921, is one of the first major creations that Chanel formed.
N°5's success was outstanding because it grew so rapidly. Furthermore, it made Coco Chanel rich, and her face became as renowned as her logo.

In 1924, Chanel began her first costume jewelry collection that Harper's Bazar named "one of the most revolutionary designs of our time." Among Chanel's designs is the long pearl necklace. This pearl necklace has the special superpowers to make any outfit an instant classic. I wanted to incorporate the staple in my painting in some way, so I figured why not wrap it around the whole piece? It adds definition to the work and strengthens the Chanel impression I was trying to convey. 

The final product :)

Now tell me, what do you think??

The Dawn of Coco

When Gabrielle Chanel turned 18, she left the orphanage at Aubazine in which the nuns introduced sewing to her. She was not permitted to stay because the nuns only kept girls that had a pious desire to be a part of their training. Although Chanel had no parents present, she had aunts and grandparents. Chanel went to visit her aunt Louise and got sent to the Notre Dame School in Moulins, which was a religious establishment managed by canonesses (women that lived according to the rule of nuns) where her aunt Adrienne was attending. When Chanel was in Aubazine, she played the organ and sang, dazzling the nuns. Contrastingly, no one was amazed by Chanel at the Notre Dame school because she was a charity child living in a free place, and consequently everyone treated her differently because she was not as fortunate as other girls there. She was given more education at Notre Dame thinking that there would always be accessible work as a seamstress. Chanel learned how to shape and embroider hats from her aunt. When Chanel was living with her aunt, she dreamed about escaping to Paris.

How did the name Coco come about if her name was Gabrielle? In Moulins, Chanel would go to a pavilion in a small park where concerts took place. Due to her talents in singing, she was committed to going on stage and singing in public. One of the songs she knew was called, 'Qui qu'a vu Coco?', which was a short song about a girl who lost her dog. The audience gave her the nickname of the lost dog. Therefore, Gabrielle became Coco, a transformation that seemed insignificant at the time but led to birth of an icon.