French fashion designer Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel (1883-1971), whose name became synonymous with elegance and chic, launched her Chanel No. 5 perfume in 1921.

Coco Chanel was ahead of her time. She was sharp, elegant and always avant-garde. The clothes she designed transformed the way women looked and how they looked at themselves.

Infamous for the little black dress, she was born in Sanmur, Maine-et-Loire. She formed her company in 1909 and her first boutique was opened in Deauville, France in 1913. The house of Chanel was closed during WWII and re-opened in 1954. Chanel’s ready-to-wear line was launched in 1978. designed by Philippe Guibourge 1978-1983 and Karl lagerfeld 1983-1999. By the mid-1920s she had launched the classic Chanel look: a wool jersey suit with straight, collarless cardigan jacket and short, full-cut skirt, worn with art deco costume jewelry and a sailor hat over short hair.