So what better way to start off my blog of fashion, style, culture, and life than to open with my thoughts on one of history's greatest fashion designers of all time Coco Chanel. I could not help but blog about her, especially after watching Lifetime's original movie COCO CHANEL (aired on September 13th, 2008).
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (aka Coco Chanel) started one of the most distinguished and luxurious fashion houses in history. Not only was she a woman of creativity and daring to go against the norm. She was a woman who understood women. Through the experimentation with straw, she weaved hats that made others criticize her, while others took great interest in a trend she began.
Starting out, Coco struggled to make a name for herself and to climb to the top. But isn't that how most designers start out? It is not until someone who believes in them that a designer's name and their creations become noticed. Whether it is an investor or a general consumer, it is the fact that someone or some people saw their great potential to create great things.
Coco Chanel never seem to consider what others thought or how other welcomed her creations. She simply just created. Whether it was a princess or a crowd of fashion forward consumers who took interest in her work, it was a enough to draw attention from many. It was enough to not only start a trend in women's wear, it was enough to secure CHANEL in fashion history.
I believe that is what is great about fashion. Among the many who design, there are few who will succeed. It is because of their true passion for fashion and their endless dedication to the arts that they will accomplish great things. A great designer must have the keen eye for what will give them that "it" factor which will separate them from the rest.
I, myself, am still trying to understand this concept of what makes a designer someone great like Marc Jacobs or Christian Louboutin. Is it the high profile clientele they tend to first market themselves to? Is it because some fashionista said they are the next best thing in fashion? Is it because they are backed by billionaire investors that push the product out to the consuming public? Whatever it may be it seems as if it's enough to start a trend that is either shortly lived or cemented in the minds of consumers for many, many years to come.
xo xo,
Chaz
