She dared to be different. Before Chanel, no one casually wore a dress in black. In the new film, Coco Before Chanel, we see “a penniless orphan transform herself into a fabulous designer who transformed ladies’ fashion.”
In the late 1800’s, living on her own and earning money as a seamstress during the day, Chanel one day found herself surrounded by beauties topped with hats like “cakes on their heads.” Disgusted with women’s fashion, she was “driven to design a simpler silhouette,” even cutting her boyfriend’s clothing down to fit her slim figure.
“Other women noticed Chanel’s chic, beautiful style and began to buy her clean-cut, simple clothes.”
(Read more about Coco w/ photos, or hear review, at NPR)
The French film (with subtitles) opens next Friday in the U.S. in a limited release. See a trailer here.