Essay On Coco Chanel

The 1920s and 1930s was the period of time between two Great wars when people’s lifestyle was changing in line with those historical events. Europe was suffering after the losses of World War One and people had to change their lives according to the historical reality. The mood of European citizens was reflected in the clothes they wore. After the years of strict Victorian style -corsets, petticoats fashion finally became more bright, relaxed and variable. At that time designers such as Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli pushed social movements out of their own way. Even though they were working during the same period of time their designs, concepts, ideas were completely opposite to each other. Their perception of beauty was significantly

Each designer expressed it in her own way. While Coco Chanel preferred classic style and dim, restrained tones, Elsa Schiaparelli’s designs were bright and avant-garde. Elsa Schiaparelli designs were inspired by surrealism. The original purpose of surrealistic art was to attack society through scandal. The scandalous tone could be observed in Elsa Schiaparelli’s designs. Coco Chanel was mostly inspired by men’s wear, especially by the uniforms of the First World War. The elements of men style were present even in her choice of fabrics. Coco Chanel preferred to use Jersey –the fabric that was commonly used for men’s underwear. Jersey was a cheap fabric and it totally suited her designs. Elsa Schiaparelli’s garments were made out of luxurious fabrics and decorated with shocking and extreme details. Among the used material were cellophane, plastic, metallic threads and even human hair on one of her jackets. In comparison to Coco Chanel Elsa Schiaparelli preferred to use bright color palette. She was experimenting with eccentric color combinations such as “ turquoise with purple or lime green with tomato red”. (scottishschools.info,