By Neha Galhotra

Editor's note: Adapted from Neha's August 2018 internship assignment profiling a business personality. It retells Chanel's story as a student summary of the time, not as a scholarly biography.

"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable." - Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel

Behind the glamour of haute couture lies the unlikely past of Coco Chanel. She is known all over the world as Coco, but that was not her original name.

Early life

Far from richesse, Gabrielle Bonheur was born into poverty in the French countryside. Her mother died and her father abandoned her to an orphanage, where she was raised by Catholic nuns. The clothes of the nuns and the residents came in neutral colours - white, beige and black - and she later drew inspiration from them. It was there that Gabrielle learned to embroider, iron and sew. She took a job as a seamstress, but she secretly wanted to escape that life and ran off to another town to become a cabaret singer. She sang in various cafes, which is where the name "Coco" came from.

From cabaret singer to milliner

She dreamed of success as a singer, but life had other plans. She became associated with a series of wealthy men and, in 1910, with financial backing from one of them, she opened a small shop selling stylish hats. The hats proved a success. She moved on to simple sportswear such as jersey sweaters, opened more stores and began creating clothing collections.

A new code of fashion

Chanel's approach to fashion turned heads. She had always loved wearing men's clothing, and many of her designs drew on it. Her simple yet elegant designs changed how women of style dressed: clothes for independent women - trousers, suits, ankle-length dresses, strap bags. In her view, women should dress comfortably yet look elegant. Mixing masculine design with the feminine proved that suits, trousers and cardigans were not reserved for men.

The little black dress

Another extraordinary creation was the famous little black dress, which became a must-have in every woman's wardrobe - the safest option for any party, apt for women with very different fashion statements. Thanks to Chanel, people began wearing black well beyond funerals, where it had mostly been seen before.

Her influence went beyond clothes to mannerisms and hairstyles: she helped women break the convention of long hair and try shorter styles. She believed, and spread the thought, that every woman can be good-looking as long as she is confident.

Chanel No.5

Chanel was never afraid to experiment beyond clothing, a major reason for her fame. In the 1920s she took her thriving business into the fragrance world and launched Chanel No.5, the first designer perfume. As the story goes, the number five came from a fortune teller who had told her it was her lucky number. Her idea was a scent that could describe the new, modern woman she wanted to inspire. The fragrance - jasmine, rose, sandalwood and vanilla - was an instant success, helped by her smart marketing and never-say-die attitude.

War, exile and comeback

The economic crisis of the 1930s hurt the economy and brought Chanel's sales to a standstill, and the outbreak of the Second World War led her to close the business: she let her workers go and shut her shops. During the German occupation of France she became involved with a German military officer, which brought public criticism and legal and political questioning. She was never charged, but in the eyes of many she was a traitor. Gabrielle left Paris and spent years in Switzerland in a kind of exile.

At the age of 70, Chanel returned to fashion like a true entrepreneur. Critics were harsh at first, but her feminine, comfortable designs soon won back hearts and shoppers around the world. Once again, she triumphed.

Legacy

Coco Chanel died on 10 January 1971 at her apartment in the Hotel Ritz. She never married and had no successor; in tribute, many mourners at her funeral wore Chanel suits, her trademark. A few years after her death, Karl Lagerfeld took over the company and carried the legacy forward. The house remains privately held by the Wertheimer family. She is the only fashion designer on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Her designs and her fragrance still hold their place in women's wardrobes and on their dressing tables - an inspiration for anyone entering fashion or setting up a business.