Type Industry Founded Founder(s)

Socit Anonyme Fashion 1909 Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel Paris, France

Headquarters Number of locations Area served Key people

135 Avenue Charles 92521 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex 310 (ca. September 2010)

de

Gaulle

Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas

Karl Lagerfeld, Chief Alain Wertheimer, Gerard Wertheimer, co-owner

Designer co-owner

Products

Haute couture, perfume, jeweler, accessories

Net income Employees Website

280.3 million (2010) 1,270 (2010) www.chanel.com

Chanel S.A. is the French house of high fashion that specializes in haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods, and fashion accessories. In her youth, the couturier Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel gained the soubriquet Coco in the course of her career as a chanteuse de caf in provincial France. As a fashion designer, Coco Chanel catered to a womans taste for elegance in dress, with blouses and suits, trousers and dresses, and jewelry (gemstone and bijouterie) of simple design that replaced the opulent, over-designed, and constrictive clothes and accessories of the 19th-century fashion. Historically, the House of Chanel is most famous for the stylistically versatile little black dress, the perfume No. 5 de Chanel, and the Chanel Suit. As a business enterprise, Chanel S.A. is a privately held company owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, an early business partner of Coco Chanel. Commercially, the brands of the House of Chanel have been personified by fashion models and actresses, by women such as Ins de la Fressange, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Vanessa Paradis, Nicole Kidman, Anna Mouglalis, Audrey Tautou, Keira Knightley, and Marilyn Monroe, who epitomize the independent, self-confident Chanel Girl.

La couturire Coco Chanel (1920)

History The Coco Chanel era Establishment and recognition 19091920s

The actress Gabrielle Dorziat wearing a Chanel plumed hat. (1912)

Fashion before Chanel: The artificial bust, waist, and hips of corsetry. (Bianca Lyons,1902)

The House of Chanel (Chanel S.A.) originated in 1909, when Gabrielle Chanel opened a millinery shop at 160 Boulevard Malesherbes, the ground floor of the Parisian flat of the socialite and textile businessman tienne Balsan, of whom she was mistress.Hence, because the Balsan flat also was a salon for the French hunting and sporting lite, Chanel had opportunity to meet their demi-mondaine mistresses, who, as such, were women of fashion, upon whom the rich men displayed their wealth as ornate clothes, jewelry, and hats; Coco Chanel thus could sell to them the hats she designed and made; she thus earned a living, independent of her financial sponsor, the socialite Balsan. In the course of those salons Coco Chanel befriended Arthur Boy Capel, an English socialite and polo player friend of tienne Balsan; per the upper class social custom, Chanel also became mistress to Boy Capel. Nonetheless, despite that social circumstance, Boy Capel perceived the businesswoman innate to Coco Chanel, and, in 1910, financed her first independent millinery shop, Chanel Modes, at 21 rue Cambon, Paris; yet, because that locale already housed a dress shop, the business-lease limited Chanel to selling only millinery products, not couture. Two years later, in 1913, the Deauville and Biarritz couture shops of Coco Chanel offered for sale prt--porter sports clothes for women, the practical designs of which allowed the wearer to play sport. The economic imperatives of national military victory in First World War (191418) affected European fashion through scarcity of materials, and the socio-economic mobilisation of women from objects of sexual desire and economic display to productive workers. Besides active military service, the enforced

and increased production of coal made men scarce in the factories and in the fields, where they were replaced by women. Until that time the end of 19th-century culture fashion for women was about the masculine display of conspicuous consumption, so, clothes makers and designers then had to produce practical and protective garments that would allow women the physical freedom required to do a mans job in factory and field in order to supply the French war effort against Imperial Germany (1871 1918). By that time, Chanel had opened a large dress shop at 31 rue Cambon, near the Htel Ritz, in Paris; among the clothes for sale were flannel blazers, straight-line skirts of linen, sailor blouses, long sweaters made of jersey fabric, and skirt-and-jacket suits. Technically, besides its relative low cost, as a couturire, Coco Chanel used jersey cloth because of its physical properties as a garment, such as its drape how it falls upon and falls from the body of the woman and how well it adapted to the simple garment-design that allowed the wearer freedom of movement, physical comfort, and flattering aesthetics. Sartorially, some of Chanels designs derived from the military uniforms made prevalent by the War to End all Wars; and, by 1915, the designs and the clothes confected by the House of Chanel were known throughout France. In 1915 and in 1917, Harpers Bazaar magazine reported that the garments of the House of Chanel were on the list of every buyer for the clothing factories of Europe.The Chanel dress shop at 31 rue Cambon presented day-wear dress-and-coat ensembles of simple design, and black evening dresses trimmed with lace; and tulle-fabric dresses decorated with jet, a minor gemstone material; the high-quality confection (design, construction, finish) of such clothes established the professional reputation of Coco Chanel as a meticulous couturire.After the First World War, the House of Chanel, following the fashion trends of the 1920s, produced beaded dresses, made especially popular by the Flapper woman.Moreover, by 1920, Chanel had designed and presented a womans suit of clothes composed either of two garments or of three garments which allowed a woman to have a modern, feminine appearance, whilst being comfortable and practical to maintain; advocated as the new uniform for afternoon and evening, it became known as the Chanel Suit. In 1921, to complement the suit of clothes, Coco Chanel commissioned the perfumer Ernest Beaux to create a perfume for the House of Chanel, and he produced several chantillons, including the perfume No.5, named after the number of the sample Chanel liked best. Originally, a flaon of No. 5 de Chanel was a gift to regular clients of Chanel yet, the popularity of the perfume prompted the House of Chanel to offer it for retail sale in 1922; in the event, No. 5 de Chanel became the signature

fragrance of the couturire and of her house of couture. In 1923, to explain the success of her clothes, Coco Chanel told Harpers Bazaar magazine that design simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.

Corporate identity
The logotype The Chanel logotype comprises two interlocked, opposed letters-C, one faced forwards, one faced backwards. The logotype was given to Chanel by the Chteau de Crmat, Nice, and was not registered as a trademark until the first Chanel shops were established. Chanel is currently dealing with illegal use of the double-C logotype on cheaper goods, especially counterfeit handbags. The company has stated that it is a top priority of theirs to stop the sale of counterfeit products.Countries said to be producing great numbers of counterfeit Chanel handbags are Vietnam and China. An authentic classic Chanel handbag retails from around US $4,150, while a counterfeit usually costs around $200 USD, creating a demand for the signature style at a cheaper price. Beginning in the 1990s, all authentic Chanel handbags are serialized.

The logotype: The House of Chanel is represented by two interlocked letters-C, for Coco Chanel.

Perfume label trademark: The No. 5 de Chanel trademark and font were introduced in 1926.

Couture trademark: The small caps name and font were introduced in 1924.

The trademarks
One timeline measurement for Chanel presence in the United States is via trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). On Tuesday, 18 November 1924, Chanel, Inc. filed two trademark applications. One was for the typeset mark Chanel. The second application was for the distinctive interlocking CC design plus word mark. In that time, the Chanel trademarks were registered only for the perfume, toiletry, and cosmetic products in the primary class of common metals and their alloys. Chanel provided the description of face powder, perfume, eau de cologne, toilet water, lip stick, and rouge, to the USPTO. The Chanel and double-C trademarks were awarded on the same date of 24 February 1925 with respective Serial Numbers of 71205468 and 71205469. Their status is registered and renewed and owned by Chanel, Inc. of New York. The earliest trademark application for the inaugural No. 5 perfume is on Thursday, 1 April 1926. Application was filed by Chanel, Inc. and described to the USPTO as perfume and toilet water. First use and commercial use is stated as 1 January 1921. Registration was granted on 20 July 1926 with Serial Number 71229497. No. 5's status is registered, renewed, and owned by Chanel, Inc.

Products

La nez de Chanel: The perfumer Ernest Beaux (18811961) created No. 5 de Chanel in 1921.

Fragrances
In 1924, Pierre Wertheimer founded Parfums Chanel, to produce and sell perfumes and cosmetics; the parfumerie proved to be the most profitable business division of the Chanel S.A. corporation.[7][22] Since its establishment, parfumerie Chanel has employed three perfumers: 1. Ernest Beaux (19201961) 2. Henri Robert (19581987) 3. Jacques Polge (1978 to date)

Signature fragrance: Chanel presented perfume No. 5 to the market in 1922; Ernest Beaux created it in 1921.

Handbags
At the commercial presentation of the Chanel handbag of classic design (and greatest popularity), the press mistakenly identified it as the 2.55 handbag, instead of having identified it as the Timeless CC handbag. The differences in product design, materuals, and manufacture, between the 2.55 and the Timeless CC handbags, are different locks and leathers; the 2.55 handbag is made of creased leather, whilst the Timeless CC handbag is made of smooth leather. Moreover, the carrying chain of the 2.55 handbag is made of links of matte-finish metal, whilst the chain of the Timeless CC handbag is made of gloss-finish metal links

through which a leather strap is interlaced. The Timeless CC handbag is available in four sizes, the most popular is the second size of the range.

The Chanel Handbag: The model 2.55, in quilted-leather, has adjustable double-chains, to wear it on the arm or at the shoulder.

Wristwatches

The unisex design of the Chanel J12 wristwatches suits men and women. The Chanel wristwatch division was established in 1987, to coincide with the dbut presentation of the Premire wristwatch In 1995, wristwatch division presented a second design, the Matelass.Although the Premire and Matelass wristwatches were successful products, the presentation, in 2000, of the Chanel J12 line of unisex style wristwatches, made of ceramic materials, established Chanel wristwatches as a recognised Chanel marque. To date the J12 line of wristwatches features models in four dial-face sizes: (i) 33mm., (ii) 38mm., (iii) 41mm., and (iv) 42mm.; the available features include the whirlwind tourbillon mechanism that counters Earthly gravity; chronographs certified by the Contrle Officiel Suisse des Chronomtres, and the usual bejewelled versions.[24][25] In 2008, Chanel S.A. and Audemars Piguet developed the ceramic Chanel AP-3125 clockwork, exclusive to the House of Chanel.

The shops
Worldwide, Chanel S.A. operates some 310 Chanel boutiques; 94 shops in Asia, 70 shops in Europe, 10 shops in the Middle East, 128 shops in North America, 2 shops in South America, and 6 shops in Oceania. The shops are located in wealthy communities, usually in department stores, shopping districts, and inside airports. In Japan, the Chanel flagship store is in the Ginza district, on the corner of 3-5-3 Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061; the other three corners of the square are occupied by Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, and Cartier shops