JANUARY 29TH 2012

Interview translation: Coco

Chanel on fame, trousers,
creativity and the Moon
Coco Chanel, aged 86, must have been the dream interviewee*. Sometimes after 20 July
1969, she answered journalist and TV presenter Micheline Sandrels questions in an organised
stream of consciousness manner. The interview is now available on You Tube in two parts
(Part 1, Part 2 - Im having embedding issues), via French TV archives institute INA.
With a granny eye on society and an unedited tendency to piss on her time, she had the
decisiveness of a successful business woman whos seen it all but doesnt necessarily
understand the world round her. Dressed in a caricature-defying monochrome outfit and
costume jewellery, she proclaimed her hatred of knees, short skirts, gossip, Moon trips,
trousers and rude people.
Coco Chanel: I saw that three days ago in the street. A man slapping a woman. She deserved
it. Id been watching them for a while, thinking that if she didnt shut up, hed slap her. And
he did.
ON BEING A FAMOUS COUTURIER

Micheline Sandrel: Do people recognise you in the street and talk to you?
Coco Chanel: Yes. Often, too often to my taste, I find it tiring. People coming over to say
hello. No I dont know them, Im sure Ive never seen them, but you have to pretend to be
polite, shake their hand People Im with ask me who they are I dont know. What do you
mean you dont know? No I dont know. They seem to know you really well. If it pleases
them, so be it, but I can sure I dont know them.
ON TROUSERS

Coco Chanel: These girls, you dress them in trousers, they become vulgar, I dont know why.
Maybe because they feel they need to waddle. I stop her, tell her not to walk like that, take the
trousers off her, put them on another girl, exactly the same result.
In the countryside you wear trousers, its the most useful thing, you dont get cold, you can
get a bit wet it doesnt matter. I came up with them nearly 20 years ago. I came up with them
by modesty, because I find wearing a swimsuit on the beach similar to walking around naked.
Once youve bathed, even if you want to stay on the beach, putting on trousers isnt that
difficult. A skirt isnt pretty, a robe is awful, trousers are the best option. You can roll around
in the sand all day long. But from this usage to it becoming a fashion, having 70% of women
wearing trousers at evening dinner is quite sad.

Micheline Sandrel: Dont you think it looks good on all women?

Coco Chanel: No, no. It suits very young people. After a certain age, it looks like you put
them on to look younger. Nothing is more aging than trying to look younger, its the stupidest
thing a woman can do, thinking if Im wearing trousers, Ill look younger than if Im
wearing a skirt.
We live in a weird period. Women are becoming I dont know what the other sex I dont
know how you do that. Wearing trousers doesnt change their face. You need trousers, Ill
make trousers. We dont like skirts anymore, we like trousers so Ill make some. This shows
how much Ive changed because two years ago I would have said: to hell with what they
need, they can do whatever they want, I wont make trousers.

ON HER CREATIVE PROCESS

Micheline Sandrel: How do you manage to be both varied and true to yourself in your creative
process?
Coco Chanel: If you move away from style, you have to start over and over again, its
impossible. Unfortunately, this is what is happening at the moment. Some couturiers are
really good couturiers but they change every week, and this is the reason why Ive created my
own style. I couldnt do it if I had to come up with something new every week, you end up
creating very ugly thing.
ON THE FUTURE OF FRENCH FASHION

If we were protected a little bit, wed keep some prestige. I have the feeling were loosing
prestige. We lost Couture last year to the Italians, we didnt do a thing to fight it. The Italians,
you see, organise [Fashion] Week very well. They have officials, but where do you find them,
you dont find them in the street, its a former ambassador, who looks after Couture. Hes a
well-bred, charming man who thought that if youre going to get all those people over, you
might as well entertain them throughout their stay, open La Scala, hire people, try to entertain
the fashion crowd. What are we doing in France? Zero. We take them to see naked men, since
its new and interesting.
Female fashion used to be always made in France, always. And the biggest buyers used to be
the Russians. All Russians used to dress in Paris, the moment they could afford it, and they
had significant means to do so. Now they wear bags. But still its better than last year
Micheline Sandrel: Is it?

Coco Chanel: Yes, a Russian friend of mine went back and told me last year it was misery
whereas now it has become a country like any poor country. Its poor, thats it. I dont think
France is gaining much standing apart from all that.

ON THE MINI SKIRT AND KNEES

Coco Chanel: Ive been fighting all couturiers for the past two years on those shorts dresses. I
find them indecent. Its not in the time you know. To show ones knees, they need to be
perfect, they are an articulation, its like showing you elbow. Yes, thats it, youd be showing
your elbows all day, look how nice my elbows are. Its awful. Do you know whats been
happening to me? When I walk into restaurants men look at me and applaud me because Ive
spoken against showing ones knees, that it was awful, pointless and hardly ever pretty and
that if they had any idea of what the body is like, theyd know if you have bad knees you also
have bad hips, too large, youre built to have children. This is not men. This is not what
theyd [women] like to have, theyd like to be built like young boys.
Ive got nothing against knees if theyre pretty. But if theyre not pretty, if you stand rue
Cambon all day long, youll struggle to find people with good legs. We never thought they
had such bad legs, knock-knees, too fat, purplish. Oh no its awful. And I believe that if you
show everything off, you dont want anything anymore. Its like people presented with their
favourite dish after being force-fed food. Theyd say no on that day. Its a bit like that.
ON THE END OF MANNERS
Micheline Sandrel: Your main worry is for women to be beautiful and distinguished.
Coco Chanel: For her to be habille [means well dressed, elegant, classy], for her to be dressed
like a woman. Its a frightful, scary mlange. Paris is losing its prestige. Its becoming vulgar
whereas it didnt use to be. It used to be ravishing. There should be some protocol for dinner
time Everything is going South in France, you invite people for dinner at 8pm, they turn up
at 10pm and cant see whats wrong with it. It also means you eat badly. France used to have
this privilege of eating very well, now you eat badly. In which kind of house would you cook
if you invite people for dinner at 8pm, which is a reasonable time, 8pm, everyone is there at
8.15pm, perfect, table, you can have dinner and then go out for a bit if you wish. But this
changes too depending on fashion, you only need having a woman deciding to eat at 10pm at
hers and everyone will dine at 10.30pm to be more chic than her. Its that stupid. Were
drowning in bottomless stupidity at the moment and it really bothers me because I believe
stupidity to be the worst. You can forgive anything except stupidity and these are stupid
things
ON HER CUSTOMERS

Ive got a really, really beautiful clientle. This is the only thing Im truly proud of. Im
convinced there isnt a house in France with a clientle like mine. From all around the world
you understand, the best from all around the world and I dont blush saying so, its bold to say
so with such confidence but its the truth. You can check it, I believe anyone who dresses well
in the world dresses here. There are few housesyou see where women come from the US to
order their dresses. They want to rest, theyve been to a spa, they dont want
to hear about going out, no, theyre here to order their dresses, they know how to dress.
Perfect. Everyone knows what they want, we tell them how many days essayages will take.
Im going back to the US, Ill be back on that day to try it on, and they turn up as scheduled.
Weve sometimes forgotten they were scheduled to come but they always do. Women come
to try their dresses because they want to try their dresses twice, then they take them away and
thats it, no bother, the Americans are good, very good customers.
ON GOSSIP

Ive never heard of a time when people badmouthed each other as much as they do now, its
scary. Its because theyve got nothing to say so they make up gossip on a family, on anything
to try to disgrace them but I think its really hard to damage reputations nowadays, no one
listens anymore. You still have women acting up at dinner, fainting, you scoop them back
up
ON YOUTH AND TV

Micheline Sandrel: What do you think of this cult of youth? It feels like weve just discovered
youth.
Coco Chanel: Eighteen-year-old people know that, we need their opinion because only these
people talk about that. Its very centered on the fashion microcosm, on the moneyed
microcosm where we talk of nothing else. There are two topics of conversation, money,
women, two topics, money Nothing serious, futility all day long, no matter what you do.
Stupidity in fact, I find it very stupid.. Dont you think television dumbs people down too? I
doubt youll say so but I think it dumbs down people, even me, all these programmes, even if
theyre not too good, I cant do without them anymore. If Im alone, its always on.
ON LANDING ON THE MOON

Micheline Sandrel: From time to time, it allows us to reach the Moon

Coco Chanel: I didnt actually, it was an evening I was tired and Im quite glad I didnt get
up, I heard so much about it the next day, I heard about nothing but that all day long. Do you
really want to know what happens up there? Youll never know. It will generate a lot of
literature, it will be good for some people, newspapers sold really well for 48 hours but why
does it matter to us, we know full well we wont go to the Moon. And why would we go?

Why do we want to be more than human? No one has gone before, why would the French go?
Or the Russians, or anyone else? Im really not interested in it. Its to entertain the masses;
you dont see the rottenness behind it all. Its all about money, only money. Were in a time of
scientists speaking to ignoramus. So you listen to them as you listen to catechism, not
believing a word of it. I dont believe it. Do you believe it? Do you believe were going to
build little huts up there and that there will be regular planes three times a week? Its all
becoming absurd you see. Its against religion, its against everything, when there will be no
more religion you wont be able to keep people in check anymore, voici le temps des
assassins [here comes the time of assassins, a line from Arthur Rimbauds poemMatine
dIvresse in Illuminations as well as a 1956 movie by Julien Duvivier with Jean Gabin], a great
poet said so and were getting close to it. What are our foundations? Theres no moral, no
modesty, nothing, theres only money to talk about, and eat good and bad food. And dream
well go to the Moon. What for?
ON HER WEIGHT

Coco Chanel: Im telling jokes, Im telling jokes not to talk about myself because Im not an
important enough character. Id be glad to have a few kilos more, I cant catch them no matter
how hard I try. I can eat, not eat, it doesnt matter, Ive never put on weight, Im not made to
fatten up, Ive made to loose weight. Ill give you an example immediately, look at my skirt.
With this collection, Ive worked myself like crazy and Ive lost that much [she show her skirt
which has become too big].
ON HER PERSONAL WARDROBE

Micheline Sandrel: One last question. You have this suit, this Chanel on you, what else do
you have nowadays in your own wardrobe?
Coco Chanel: Two suits Ive had for three years, a beige one and the one I wore yesterday,
with a small pattern, three is good. I have a brand new one, all white, which Ill wear to the
collection.
*This public service translation of a 1969 interview of Coco Chanel was brought to you
following a request from Canadian illustrator, trend theorist and brunch companion Danielle
Meder of Final Fashion. I dont owe any of the original material but the translation is all mine.
Posted at 2:12pm and tagged with: Interview translation,Coco Chanel,.