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Late Fashion Visionary Lives On

When Coco Chanel died in January 1971, The New York Times called her “one of the greatest couturiers of the 20th century.”

The newspaper noted that she passed away in her apartment at the Ritz Hotel, and was still working at the time, on her upcoming spring collection.

“Her life story,” the Times noted, “was turned into a musical, ‘Coco,’ which ran on Broadway last year starring Katherine Hepburn in her first singing and dancing role. Miss Hepburn, 60 at the time the show opened, was termed ‘too old’ for the part by the tart-tongued Coco, who was 86.”

“Chanel,” the obituary pointed out, “dominated the Paris fashion world in the 1920s and at the height of her career was running four business enterprises -- a fashion house, a textile business, perfume laboratories and a workshop for costume jewelry -- that altogether employed 3,500 workers.”

But, the Times said, “It was perhaps her perfume more than her fashions that made the name Chanel famous around the world. Called simply ‘Chanel No. 5’ -- she had been told by a fortune-teller that five was her lucky number -- it made Coco a millionaire.”

Chanel’s life, and continuing impact on the fashion world, are celebrated in an exhibit that just opened at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and runs through Aug. 7.

Who was Coco Chanel, and how did she become a visionary whose fashion designs are still among the most easily recognized and desired today, nearly 100 years since she began designing?

To find out, CBS News Correspondent Rita Braver talks with Karl Lagerfeld, today’s House of Chanel designer, and to the curator of Met’s exhibit, about the House that Coco built, on CBS News Sunday Morning.

Gabrielle Chanel adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a cafe and concert singers 1905-1908, according to About.com.

“From her first millinery shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s…Chanel rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris,” About says. “Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women’s trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles.”

About adds, “By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its ‘little boy’ look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual look were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes, and adapted these more comfortable fashions which other women also found liberating.

“Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature “little black dress” in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn’t change much from year to year, or even generation to generation.

“She briefly served as a nurse in World War I. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years; Chanel’s affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland.

“In 1954 her comeback restored her to the first ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit once again caught the eye, and purses, of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell-bottom pants for women.”

The Met’s Web site refers to Chanel as “one of the most revered designers of the 20th century,” who has had “an enduring impact on the fashion world.”
“It is the authority and mastery of her work, the resonance of her image of the modern woman as articulated in her designs, and the autobiographical infusion of influences in her collections that confirm her iconic stature,” the Met’s site observes.

It explains that, “In this exhibition, the spirit of the House of Chanel echoes vibrantly with an unprecedented presentation of more than 50 designs and accessories from the Museum’s Costume Institute collection, Chanel Archives, and other international institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“The exhibition examines the history of the House of Chanel thematically, revealing ideas and elements of biography as they were expressed in Chanel’s work. Period examples are juxtaposed with the work of Karl Lagerfeld, who joined the House of Chanel in 1983, revitalizing its spirit and identity. Through Lagerfeld’s interpretations and refinements, the historic importance of Chanel is both defined and asserted for the modern woman.”

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