Chanel

Chanel is a French luxury fashion house founded by couture Coco Chanel in 1910. It focuses on women's ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods, and accessories. The company is currently owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gérard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was an early business partner of Coco Chanel.

Chanel is well known for the perfume Chanel No. 5 and the Chanel Suit. Chanel's use of jersey fabric produced garments that were comfortable and affordable. Chanel revolutionized fashion both high fashion (haute couture) and everyday fashion (prêt-à-porter) by replacing structured-silhouettes, based upon the corset and the bodice, with garments that were functional and at the same time flattering to the woman's figure.

In the 1920s, the simple-line designs of Chanel couture made popular the 'flat-chested' fashions that were the opposite of the hourglass figure achieved by the fashions of the late 19th century – the Belle Époque of France (c. 1890–1914), and the British Edwardian era (c. 1901–1919). Chanel used colors traditionally associated with masculinity in Europe, such as grey and navy blue, to denote feminine boldness of character.

The clothes of the House of Chanel featured quilted fabric and leather trimmings; the quilted construction reinforces the fabric, the design, and the finish, producing a garment that maintains its form and function while being worn. An example of such haute couture techniques is the woolen Chanel suit – a knee-length skirt and a cardigan-style jacket, trimmed and decorated with black embroidery and gold-colored buttons. The complementary accessories were two-tone pump shoes and jewelry, usually a necklace of pearls, and a leather handbag. Tweed is a fabric for men, but Coco Chanel designed tweed for women when she wanted to find a feminist outfit. The tweed suits feature white hemlines and collars, a signature of Chanel.

In 1921 Chanel began to produce perfumes. Chanel No.5 is the most famous line of the brand until today. It is also one of the global best-selling perfume bottles of all time. Chanel then founded the perfume company Parfums Chanel, with the investor Pierre Wertheimer holding the majority stake.