The legend of Coco Chanel

A traveling exhibition with its last stop now in Hamburg traces Coco Chanel's legend. What made the French fashion designer and founder of the Chanel brand so unique? According to curator Angelika Riley, "Chanel started on a very low level but quickly made it in the world of fashion. The fashion of the new century asked for somebody new and she was there to take up the challenge."

Coco Chanel was born as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in France in 1883. Her mother was an unmarried laundrywoman, her father a street vendor who traveled often. When Chanel was 12 years old her mother died of bronchitis and her father sent her and her two sisters to a home for abandoned and orphaned girls. Chanel later lied about her past to hide her humble origins.

During her time at the religious home for abandoned girls, Chanel learned the art of sewing and was able to find work as a seamstress once she turned 18. She also earned money on the side as a café performer. It was at this time that Gabrielle started using Coco as a stage name.

Chanel quickly turned away from music and concentrated on fashion. In 1910 she became a licensed hat maker and began designing head wear, which she sold in a boutique in Paris called Chanel modes (Chanel Fashions). Her career as a hat designer took off when theater actress Gabrielle Dorziat modeled her hats in plays. Three years later, Chanel opened her first fashion boutique in northern France.

By 1919, Chanel was registered as a "couturière" and moved back to Paris where she opened a fashion boutique featuring clothing, hats, and accessories. Chanel introduced deluxe casual clothes suitable for leisure and sport characterized by a youthful ease. Her boutique quickly turned into a fashion house and by the 1930s Chanel employed 4,000 people and ran a lucrative business.

Chanel created a look for the new woman that couldn't identify with society's changing view of women's role. She designed clothes for confident ladies who were willing to show more skin. Skirts became shorter and pants became more common. According to Riley, Chanel was neither avant-garde nor eccentric. "She designed wearable, elegant, feminine fashion that allowed women to move and work."

One of Chanel's trademark creations is the little black dress. "She created icons that became household names. Many people still know what a Chanel suit is; they know something about the little black dress or the perfume, Chanel No 5," said Riley. "Coco Chanel didn't just create fashion, she created a style that many could and still can relate to."

But Chanel didn't just create iconic clothing, she also stirred up controversy with her wartime activities, her involvement with the Nazis and the way she treated her employees. When World War II started, Chanel closed her shops, saying it was not a time for fashion. As a result, thousands of her employees (pictured above), who had lobbied for fair wages, lost their jobs.

Historical documents link Chanel to Nazi intelligence operations, indicating she traveled to Berlin in 1943 to meet with military commander Heinrich Himmler to formulate anti-Semitic strategies. After General Walter Schellenberg, chief of foreign intelligence, was put on trial by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal (pictured), Chanel paid for his medical care, living expenses and funeral in 1952.

Chanel also petitioned German officials during World War II to seize the property of her Jewish business partners in an effort to claim the full revenue generated by her perfume Chanel No 5. After the war, both parties came to an understanding and Chanel received enormous amounts of wartime profits from the sale of Chanel No 5, making her one of the richest women in the world at the time.

After moving to Switzerland in 1945, Chanel returned to Paris in 1953, initiating a comeback of her fashion house. But her new collection wasn't perceived well by Parisians, who remembered her wartime Nazi associations. Only Americans and Brits celebrated her comeback. Chanel died at the age of 87 in Paris. Many models and fashion designers, like Yves Saint Laurent (pictured) attended her funeral.

But the legend of the fashion icon didn't end with Chanel's death. German designer Karl Lagerfeld took over the Chanel House in 1983, incorporating Chanel's ideas into his own style. "The House of Chanel is the second oldest French fashion house that is still producing and even after 100 years it is very much connected to the founder Chanel; that's very rare," Riley said.

Riley says what's most astonishing about Chanel is that she founded a fashion house that still has an enormous impact. "She influences fashion designers, manufacturers and tailors even today." It's this impact that the exhibition, "The Chanel Legend," focuses on. The exhibit can be seen at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg until May 18.