Coco CHANEL

In the 50 years since her death, the legacy of this legendary fashion designer has only grown. Hannah-Rose Yee looks back on Chanel’s gift for knowing what women really wanted, as well as the tragedy that marred her life

- Hannah-Rose

Inside the atelier on rue Cambon in Paris, every seat was taken. It was February 5, 1954, and Coco Chanel was staging her comeback fashion show. All 200 guests turned up, on time, causing a seating scramble – there were critics crammed in corners and huddled on the floor, at the feet of their rivals. Chanel was in her usual position, crouched at the top of the winding staircase, looking down from above.

For almost a decade, Chanel had lived in semi-retirement, first in Switzerland and then at La Pausa, her bougie bolthole on the French Riviera designed as a retreat for her and her lover, the 2nd Duke of Westminster. After the duke died in 1953, Chanel sold the house and moved back to Paris. There, she met with her old business partners, the brothers Wertheimer, who convinced her to return to work. Chanel was 70 years old, and this was her first collection in 14 years.

For two hours, guests sat in uncomfortable silence watching a parade of Chanel classics – tweed suits, neat blouses – and they were not amused. The French press panned the collection, calling Chanel’s designs out of sync with the current sartorial mood, which favored the high romance of Christian Dior. “How could someone … so totally lose touch with her age and its style?” sneered one.