Chanel

Chanel Milestones

1883 Birth of Gabrielle Chanel in Saumur, in France.

1910 Opening of Chanel’s hat boutique in Paris, 21 rue Cambon.

1921 Launch of the "Chanel N°5" fragrance.

1924 Foundation of the company "Parfums Chanel" by Pierre Wertheimer.

1932 Creation of Chanel’s first jewelry collection dedicated to the diamond, including the famous “Comète” necklace.

1939 The fashion house closes down. Only the perfumes and accessories boutique remains open 31 rue Cambon.

1954 The Haute Couture house reopens.

1955 Launch of the "2.55" quilted bag.

1971 Gabrielle Chanel passes away.

1983 Karl Lagerfeld quits Chloé to become Fashion Artistic Director of Chanel.

1984 Launch of the "Coco" fragrance.

1987 Chanel enters the watches market and launches the “Première” watch, designed by Jacques Helleu.

1990 Launch of the "Egoïste" fragrance.

1996 Launch of the "Allure" fragrance for men.

2000 Launch of the "J12" watch, the first unisex watch by Chanel.

2001 Launch of the “Coco Mademoiselle” fragrance.

2002 In order to preserve an invaluable know-how to the fashion industry, Chanel founds Paraffection, a company gathering the most famous art designer houses: Desrues, Lemarié, Michel, Lesage, Massaro, Goosens and Guillet.

2003 Launch of the "Chance" fragrance.

2004 Nicole Kidman embodies N°5 in a movie advertising.

2007 Keira Knightley is chosen to embody "Coco Mademoiselle".

2009 French actress Audrey Tautou replaces Nicole Kidman and becomes the new spokesmodel of N°5.