Chanel

Chanel needs almost no introduction. The name is known. Considered by many the most influential designer of the twentieth century, Coco Chanel created the brand in the early 1900s when she emerged from a poverty-striken childhood to create haute couture for the women of France. She aimed to create styles for women that allowed freedom of movement and shunned ostentation. Arguably, she invented the “little black dress,” and felt that women should be able to wear this dress from day to evening. She learned to sew in the convent where she grew up (after being orphaned), and was a stickler for perfection.

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