With a natural born rebel at its helm since 1909, it’s no surprise that Chanel has led the designer handbag revolution for over a century, creating iconic, highly crafted products that much like the life of its founder, have bypassed convention and cultivated a fiercely loyal following. In honor of Coco’s birthday on August 19, we’re taking a quick look back at her life and legendary contributions.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel grew up in an orphanage run by nuns, sang cabaret and remained scandalously single throughout her lifetime, but what she did end up transforming was the clothing and handbag industry for women forever by popularizing a previously unacceptable item in their form fitting, corset-laden wardrobes: Pants. Yes, pants. If you can’t imagine life without them (seriously, how can you?), you have Chanel to thank. With her resistance to fashion norms of the era, she liberated her female counterparts and contemporaries through clothing.
“I gave women a sense of freedom,” Chanel once said. “ I gave them back their bodies.”
Chanel soon became the most sought after brand in France for comfortable, yet flattering clothing for women. Her classic tweed suit and No.5 perfume, which Marilyn Monroe famously declared as the only thing she wore to bed, became staples in every woman’s beauty arsenal. Things, however were just getting started. Soon, the fashion house was about to change the game once again, and this time for luxury handbags.
In 1955, Chanel debuted the iconic 2.55 Flap handbag. Made of plush, quilted leather with a double-chain shoulder strap, and a gold interlocked CC logo introduced in the 1980s by infamous Chanel head designer Karl Lagerfeld, this luxury handbag and its many reincarnations have been coveted by women everywhere since they first came on the scene. The original turn-lock closure was called the “Mademoiselle” lock, rumored to be a nod to Coco’s decision to never marry. The burgundy interior is another homage, this time to the uniform Coco wore during her childhood as she was growing up in the convent.
Since the 2.55, Chanel’s following has reached cult status with every new addition, from the Grand Shopping Tote, Wallet on Chain, Cerf Executive Tote and the highly sought after Chanel Boy Bag, named after her lifelong love affair with English polo player Arthur “Boy” Capel. Debuting in Chanel’s 2011-12 fall/winter ready to wear collection, the Boy Bag ushered in a new era at the brand, combining the historical details from Coco’s own life with a functional aesthetic perfect for the modern Chanel fan.
Chanel broke new ground once again when Pharrell became the first man to model a Chanel bag in an advertising campaign in 2017. The campaign featured the popular “Gabrielle” bag, the brand’s biggest bag debut since the Boy bag. The Gabrielle can be worn as a shoulder bag or cross body, and has since become a favorite of Meghan Markle (that’s Duchess of Sussex to you) and Lily Collins, among others.
When you carry a Chanel bag, you’re making a statement. It’s a timeless, sophisticated investment that holds its value on the resale market, something Chanel probably had in mind along.
