Coco Chanel and CHANEL History: Jersey, Black Dresses and Biarritz | US

Gabrielle Chanel was born in Saumur, France, on 19 August 1883. Sewing skills learned in the convent became the starting point for a life that would change both women’s clothes and the way they moved through the world.

American Vogue’s response to the little black dress is one chapter in this story. It begins earlier with Deauville jersey and Biarritz couture, then continues through CHANEL jackets, suits and Cruise 2027.

From a Paris millinery shop to jersey in Deauville, 1910–1913

Chanel opened a hat shop in Paris in 1910 and expanded to the seaside resort of Deauville in 1912. From 1913, jersey—then commonly used for men’s underwear and sportswear—became women’s blouses, skirts and dresses in her hands.

At a time when corsets were still expected, her clothes made walking and moving the arms easier. The idea was simple but radical: clothes should adapt to a woman’s life.

Coco Chanel opens a couture house in Biarritz in 1915

Biarritz, on France’s Atlantic coast, was a resort for royalty and high society. When the First World War began, people who had left Paris also arrived in the town.

In 1915, Chanel opened a couture house opposite the casino. Alongside hats came sailor-style pullovers, blouses, jersey jackets and light skirts.

Comfort and beauty were never treated as opposites. The house eventually grew to employ 300 people.

Silk jersey becomes a new kind of luxury in 1916

A silk-jersey marinière blouse appeared in 1916. Chanel turned a fabric chosen for comfort into a garment that looked clean, light and elegant.

31 rue Cambon becomes the centre of CHANEL in 1918

In 1918, Gabrielle Chanel established 31 rue Cambon as the centre of the house, bringing the salon, ateliers and her apartment together in one building.

Venice brings colour and new motifs in 1920

Gabrielle Chanel travelled to Venice with Misia Sert in 1920. Byzantine gold, glowing glass and the winged lion of Saint Mark left a vivid impression. Together with Chanel’s own zodiac sign, Leo, the lion became a recurring code on buttons and jewellery.

The Duke of Westminster and British tweed, from 1923

Chanel met the Duke of Westminster around 1923 and spent time in Britain and Scotland. His tweed jackets offered a clue to combining practicality with an assured, polished line.

British tweed was sturdy and often stiff. Chanel made it softer and lighter for women, turning it into an essential material for the jackets and suits that followed.

Coco Chanel designs the costumes for Le Train Bleu in 1924

Close to Sergei Diaghilev, Chanel designed the costumes for the 1924 Ballets Russes production Le Train Bleu. Their sportswear-like silhouettes let the dancers move freely, carrying the ease of her everyday clothes onto the stage.

The little black dress changes the meaning of black in 1926

In 1926, American Vogue compared Chanel’s black dress to the Ford. Black was no longer reserved for limited occasions; it became modern clothing that could be worn by day or by night.

Coco Chanel goes to Hollywood in 1931

Invited by Samuel Goldwyn, Coco Chanel travelled to Hollywood in 1931. Rather than burying a star beneath a costume, she wanted the clothes to reveal the woman wearing them.

CHANEL returns to couture in 1954, when Coco is 71

After closing her couture house in 1939, Chanel returned in 1954 at the age of 71. Jackets and suits that could be slipped on as easily as cardigans found support among working women and reached a new generation.

Camellias, lions, black, silk and chains: the enduring codes of CHANEL

Camellias, lions, black, silk, tweed, collarless lines and chains at the hem. Once their stories are known, a CHANEL jacket or dress begins to look a little different.

Karl Lagerfeld becomes CHANEL’s artistic director in 1983

Karl Lagerfeld became CHANEL’s artistic director in 1983. He kept the familiar language of tweed, pearls, chains, camellias, black and white, then added short hemlines, denim and bold logos so that the classics felt new each season.

He inherited more than a silhouette. His great trick was to protect an image everyone recognised while still pushing it into the next era. That tension opens the long story of Karl’s CHANEL.

CHANEL Cruise 2027 (27C) returns to Coco’s Biarritz

In April 2026, Matthieu Blazy presented his first CHANEL Cruise collection, 2026/27 (27C), in Biarritz.

Silk, raffia, cotton and tweed met the Atlantic air on the same coast where Coco Chanel had opened her couture house in 1915. A story begun 111 years earlier found a new chapter by the sea.

References

• The Met | Coco Chanel and the House of Chanel
• V&A | Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto