COCO AVANT CHANEL…. Must see of this year

I should have talked about this ages ago, but I have been stuck with brainstorming a header for Famushu (it’s still under construction), and after all this time I have come with absolutely n.o.t.h.i.n.g.  Pfff! Anyway, I had shared a New York Times link about the film on my facebook page some weeks back. Alors, ever since the movie ‘Coco avant Chanel’ has been out, there has been an endless amount of Coco Chanel everywhere on the net: people are talking about her life and her works and Chanel’s famous quotes, pictures are spread across sites and blogs: its Chanel fever!  Perhaps this is the intention of Anne Fontaine, director of Coco avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel)- To make people talk about the legendary lady, to once again bring back to life, the Chanel who once lived on the face of this earth.  After three whole decades since the death of the world famous designer, we get to see her in flesh and blood (well metaphorically, at least). Her love affairs, her struggle towards achieving an ultimate goal, all those little personal details of this diva of a designer is now possible to be seen on the silver screen :). A mademoiselle who kicked away the word ‘suppressed’ and brought ‘liberation’ to women in the 1920’s: her flapper dress was the symbol of liberation for women encouraging them to throw away their claustrophobic corsets and swing their hips to jazz and ride automobiles with their new ‘bob’ cut. It was a complete revolution for such a time. I’m sure we all must have heard of the iconic ‘Chanel jacket’ a tailored jacket with an elegant grace mixed with a hint of masculinity in the design – it has evolved since its early beginning in the 20’s and today Karl Lagerfeld and the Chanel house presents a wide array of designs to choose from plus a huge number of faithful celebrity fans ;). Although Chanel lived large during her time of success, her journey to the lap of luxury was not as smooth. Audrey Tautou (you must’ve seen her in “Da Vinci Code” and “Amelie”) plays the role of Chanel and portrays her rags-to-riches story with a lot of emphasis given to Chanel’s love affair in the movie. Although Chanel is known to have had numerous affairs with men especially from high places, the movie mainly focuses on the relationship of her and Etian Balsan the aristocrat, who financed to launch her fashion career. Chanel’s strong and independent flair went along with her career, booming into a mega industry and leading to the first ever perfume named after a designer: the infamous Chanel No.5. still dominates the perfume industry. Chanel is said to have stated: “A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”

the no.5 perfume was known to be a fav of marilyn monroe

With her strong statements Chanel had always influenced womens sense of style and way of living. So the movie is an essential to any fashion student or anyone who is interested in the history of fashion and Coco Chanel is a name that is always associated with the industry. I certainly recommend it as a must-see to you all 🙂

Thought i'll illustrate a carricature of Chanel 🙂

…Et ensuite Il y avait Chanel.