Coco Chanel and the art of branding.

Chanel. A word that can make a woman weak at the knees. At least the intensity of love or obsession, I have for Chanel is what my bar for measuring up my love for other things is. Like I really want someone to obsess me, the way I obsess with Chanel.

Be it No. 5, handbags, the black dress, I can’t really choose the best in makeup so let’s just say all of it. And it’s not just me. Nicki Minaj, Hilary Duff, Kim Kardashian, Blake Lively, Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria, Miley Cyrus, Kate Hudson, Ashley Tisdaleq all of them indulge in the Chanel obsession.

Is it worth the hype? Oh yes, you’ll find out

Coco Chanel, one of the most powerful women and influential icon in the world of fashion.

She was a French fashion designer and businesswoman who founded the Chanel fashion house and brand. She was known for creating designs that are fashionable, comfortable, and timeless. Coco Chanel managed to create her own empire in a world ruled by men. She was their equal and sometimes she was even better than them.

But what leads to Chanel become the success it is? What made Chanel the brand it is?

OK, so branding is the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising or distinctive design.

And behind Chanel was the diva herself. Coco Chanel has made it on her own, she was someone who stood up for what she believed in, and someone who made a significant change.

If anyone needs inspiration as to how they should build a brand. They should think of someone like (Gabrielle) Coco Chanel. She did not only completely change the way women dressed, but Coco also redesigned the way women think and how they are perceived.

Coco Chanel revolutionized the way women wore their clothes and capitalizing on the changing times she lived in, empowered women to strive for perfection, not for “painful but fab looks for the red carpet”.

“Luxury ought to be comfortable otherwise it is really not luxury”

And Chanel was never cheap. Exclusivity plays a major part in its premium price.

Because In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.

It is well known that Coco started out with nothing, designing her hat collections, and then during the rough war years, she managed to turn women’s perception of fashion and lifestyle of the 20th-century upside down. In addition, she continued to do so for the rest of her life with her designs, interviews and most important by living what she preached.

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel

Without Coco, we would not have a little black dress nor fashionable trousers for women. She started a trend of using an ordinary clothing item with pearls, jewels and lace to enhance a simple elegant dress. She liked the jewellery pieces bold, original and unique. The influence that Coco Chanel still holds in the fashion world is remarkable. Coco Chanel had done something no one else had ever dared to try – she used clothing designed for men and made it a unisex. Her emotions, ideas and expressions are apparent in her designs. She did not care about what people thought or if her designs would be accepted. She simply made her dreams of style and business come to life.  

Would it not have been Chanel we wouldn’t be having any of these: The Little Black Dress, Trousers for women, Suntan, Jersey, Branded Perfume, Costume Jewelry, The Chanel Suit

This was how Coco Chanel made what Chanel what it is but the thing that really struck me is that this woman knew what she was creating something different and she was unapologetic, confident and did not sacrifice or doubted her ideas. Revolutionising fashion is what this woman did to us. Moreover, even when she was at the top of the fashion charts, she did not stop. She continued to explore new ideas and designs, even as she grew older.

               

Chanel rose to what it is because of its uniqueness, uncompromised quality and comfort the woman then and now seek. And the woman knew her standards so she did not compromise on those. She delivered both quality and comfort with style, elegance and I’ll be short of adjectives so I’ll stop. It was her passion and dayum! She was a strong woman who literally changed the game.

Although Chanel has been dead for 48 years, her name and her legacy live on. Today there are 100 Chanel boutiques around the world, and as of May 2018, it was #87 on the Forbes most valuable brand list, valued at 8 billion dollars. In 1983, designer Karl Lagerfeld took over as creative director, and he had successfully brought the Chanel brand to a younger generation of women while still retaining the timelessness of Chanel’s original style and quality. Now, Virginie Viard will be taking over Lagerfeld’s role, overseeing all of Chanel’s collections going forward. She has been officially appointed as artistic director of fashion collections, including haute couture, rtw and accessories. This marks the first time a female designer is taking the helm of the brand since Gabrielle Chanel herself.

Chanel’s funeral was a fashionable affair too. Her coffin was covered in white gardenias and her models sat in the front seats at the ceremony. 1,500 mourners crammed into the Madeline church in Paris, ranging from the rich clients who purchased her clothes, to the seamstresses and models to ordinary people. After the funeral, her coffin was transported to her burial site in Lausanne, Switzerland. Not surprisingly, Chanel also designed her own tombstone which features her characteristic lions, and the phrase

“Without stone above me, I would like to leave if I had the wish to go to Heaven and dress the angels.”

What a life and what a woman?