She is Gabrielle BonheurChanel (1883-1971) aka "Coco" distinguished by the two CCs that sign today the fashion most loved by women all over the world. Hers is a story of loves and betrayals, secret children and unspeakable plots, unspeakable ties and international espionage that give life, in the darkest years of Europe, to a narrative between splendours and miseries of fashion and high society.
Keeper of a secret never fully revealed, as sensual as Chanel N° 5 is. her perfume
Abandoned by her father, by the man she loved, betrayed by the business partner who stole the formula of her immortal perfume, Coco has never given up. Born very poor in the French countryside, as a café chantant dancer, with only the weapons of a needle and a versatile intelligence, she built a kingdom.
After a short time as a saleswoman, Coco Chanel worked for a few years as a café singer. Later she associated with some wealthy men and in 1913, with the financial assistance of one of them, Arthur Capel (Boy), opened a tiny millinery shop in Deauville, in France, where he sold jersey sweaters. Within five years her original use of jersey fabric became of interest to upper class women seeking relief from new corset styles. Faithful that "luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury", Chanel's designs emphasized simplicity and comfort and revolutionized the fashion industry.
He invented a new woman, very similar to her, free and self-confident
When, in the darkest hours of the France, with the swastika flying over the Torre Eiffel, what she holds most dear – her son, her freedom and her perfume – is jeopardized, the queen of Paris pulls out her claws. And she prepares to walk through the fire as she always has. Alone and at any cost.
By the late 20s, Chanel's industries were reportedly worth millions and employed more than 2.000 people, not only in her couture house but also in a perfumery workshop, a cloth factory, and a jewelry workshop. The financial basis of this empire was Chanel No. 5, the phenomenally successful perfume he introduced in 1921 with the help of Ernst Beaux, one of the most talented perfume creators in France. It has been said that the perfume got its name from the series of fragrances Beaux created for Chanel: a combination of jasmine and many other floral scents to make it mysterious compared to the mono-scented perfumes on the market at the time. That Chanel was the first major fashion designer to introduce a perfume and that she replaced the typical perfume packaging with a simple and elegant bottle has also added to the success of the perfume.
“A woman without no 5 is a woman without a future”. Coco Chanel
Pamela Binnings Ewen is a bestseller, author of prestigious award-winning novels. He belongs to a family with a high density of famous writers, including James Lee Burke, winner of an Edgar Award, Andre Dubus II, the author of The Bedroom, later adapted for the cinema and winner of 5 Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe, and Andre Dubus III, one of the most powerful voices in contemporary American fiction, author, among other things, of House of Sand and Fog, from which the award-winning film of the same name was based.
THE QUEEN N° 5, the novel that reconstructs the life of Coco Chanel and the intrigue linked to the most famous perfume
ever, is an international bestseller published in several countries and critically acclaimed.
Book published by Daylight Library
