How Chanel Built a Fashion Empire
How Chanel Built a Fashion Empire
She persuaded her way to the top. Follow her rise and downfall.
👋 Hello, this is your weekly dose of inspiration
and practical guidance. Every Friday you will receive a captivating visual timeline that charts the rise of a successful individual + lessons derived from that.
I have recently moved the newsletter to Substack and decided to start everything over. That means some stories will be updated and sent again.
I also want to let you that from now on, you can reply to this email and let me know who you’d like to read about next.
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born on 19 August 1883. She was left in an orphanage at the young age of 11, where she was taught how to sew.
During her early 20s, she sang in a Cabaret where she acquired the name Coco. Through her work, she met a textile heir which she became the mistress of.
This allowed her to start designing hats and opening a hat store 3 years later. She would go on to expand into clothing, perfume, make-up, skincare and accessories.
The fashion world is thankful for iconic pieces like the famous tweed suit, the flap bag and the two tone shoe.
One Lesson from Chanel
Her life was filled with ups and downs. When she was 11, she was left at an orphanage. Yet, it was there that she acquired the skill that would shape her future: sewing.
As Steve Jobs put it in his famous Stanford speech, it’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward.
That means it’s impossible to predict how experiences will shape our future.
For Chanel, sewing was not a chosen passion but a skill imparted out of necessity and circumstance.
All the girls in the orphanage were taught to sew. Yet, when looking back — that skill was imperative for her future career. Without it, we probably wouldn’t have ever heard the name Chanel.
In my case, this newsletter is a culmination of some skills I have acquired over the years that did not seem to connect back then.
I had a blog. Then I did some design. I then learned how to get subscribers for others.
Back then, it was impossible to see how these would connect. Now — it just seems like I followed the perfect path.
I'd love to hear about any skills in your life that don't seem to connect at the moment.
Until next Friday,
The Chronicler
Thank you.
My skill as a surveyor