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All about her life 1883-1971.

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PARIS, France - It would be impossible to dispute the claim that Gabrielle "Coco" is the most famous designer in history - the reputation outstripping that of rivals such as Dior, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, all of whom gave much more to fashion than she did. Her great strength was her ability to read the times and the moods that changed them - and usually do so before anyone else did. She was a true catalyst for fashion change, but not always a very original creator.

Her story has become legendary and at least its basic facts are now part of fashion mythology, even to those who have no special interest in the fashion world. Biographies, memoirs, diaries, films, even a play; her life has been turned inside out for all to enjoy and there is no reason to believe that the flow of words and images devoted to her will diminish in the foreseeable future, any more than that intertwined Cs of the company's logo will ever go out of fashion.

Born in Saumur in a poor house hospice in 1883, Chanel was illegitimate. Her mother died when her daughter was 12, and any fortune teller would have predicted a dark and dreary life of sadness for her from that point. But anyone who could read character and willpower would have known the possibility of a different life path. Even as a young girl, she had beauty, which developed into a coquettish style that entranced men throughout her entire life, thereby enabling her to get whatever she wanted from them.

The facts of her early days are not easily verifiable. She grew up in a time - the last years of the 19th century - and in a place - rural France - when the lives of the poor were rarely fully documented. So, facts are scarce and, throughout her life, Chanel took advantage of this. She was good at self-mythologizing, and there was much to mythologise. As far as we know, she was christened Gabrielle and legitimised when her parents married a year after her birthday. She was one of five children and the family lived in abject poverty. When his wife died of tuberculosis, the father, an indigent pedlar, dumped his three daughters in the grounds of an orphanage and disappeared. Life in a strict catholic institution run by sadistic nuns, determined to bring all their charge to heel, had no such effect on Chanel except to make her rebel against all forms of discipline and fight to have her own way. They failed to break her spirit but certainly hardened her resolve to take control of her life as soon as she could.

Liberation came when Chanel went to Moulins to work as a seamstress and eked out a wage by singing in a bar, where she was nicknamed Coco after a song she sang. She was popular, not least because she had developed into a dramatically beautiful young woman. Her professional life began in 1906 when she became the mistress to a French textile heir and racehorse owner. (and how she could use it) and horses were two of her life long passions, as were wealthy, influential men who paid the bills and helped her business endeavours. But being the mistress of a busy man was not enough for Chanel. Her ambition needed an outlet. So, her lover took the classic route out of a very common predicament of the time, and set her up as a milliner, not as a profession, but as something to pass the time. Everything changed when she met a handsome and wealthy Englishman who shared her equine passions. They fell in love, probably the only time Chanel ever did. He took her to Paris and, within a year, she opened her first establishment in a narrow backstreet called rue Cambon, on January 1 1910. Her lover, Boy Capel, took her with him everywhere and she soon learned how aristocrats and the beau monde lived, talked and dressed. Chanel was not happy with the fussy, encumbering pre-world War I high fashion look and when Capel gave her a boutique in Deauville in 1913, she began an insidious private war to try to make women as modern and comfortable in their clothing as men were - especially active, outdoor types like Capel. In Deauville, she introduced casual knits and dresses shockingly simple compared to what was coming out of the salons of the couturiers in Paris.

She chose the right moment. The 1914-1918 war was not a time for extravagance and the privations of war made women more receptive to simplicity then they might otherwise have been. Chanel was increasingly intrigued by the casual elegance of men's clothing, especially for wear in the country, and took many ideas from Capel's wardrobe, which were the basis for what was, by the end of the war a good business, with a Couture house registered in rue Cambon and a thriving establishment "pour le sport" in Biarritz. Both exemplified the principles that illuminated Coco Chanel's entire designing life: the luxury of simplicity; the insistence on perfection of workmanship and quality of materials and perhaps, her most lasting gift to fashion; the need for a fashionable woman to be slim and keep slim throughout her entire life.

Chanel's life and happiness - if she ever were happy - were torn apart by the death of Capel in a car accident in 1919. She later said that with his death she lost everything, but it could also be said that she gained a great deal. France, like Britain, was still in mourning for the young men lost in the carnage of the war. It has been calculated there was virtually no family in either country untouched by tragedy - and mourning filled the streets of Paris and London with women wearing black. Having no real family, Chanel had stood outside this very important moment for women. Capel's death - as violent and saddening as death in the trenches - made a bridge between her and the rest of her sex.

Despite her lack of formal education, Chanel had an intellectual acuity rare in fashion circles. She was aware that young women, looking at their mothers, destroyed by the loss of husbands and sons, felt it almost a compulsion to not fall in love. The independent garçonne was changing ideas of femininity and slim, sportive Chanel saw the signs before anyone else.

She never trusted men. She would take the money in exchange for her body and use it to preserve her independence. She chose lovers for their power and how it could help her. After Capel, there was the Grand Duke Dimitri of Russia and the Duke of Westminster and, during World War II, Haus Gunther von Dincklage, despite the fact that it was treason to consort with members of the occupying German force in Paris.

I believe her "little black dress" of the '20s was inspired by three things. Firstly Chanel recognised the need for post-war mourning - even for young women - but thought that it could be more chic than the traditional women's needs. Secondly, she wanted women to stop looking down-trodden and destroyed with grief. So she turned to formal menswear; the stiff white collar and starched cuffs made a chic declaration of masculine conformity and superiority. Add to this the grim memory of the nuns, whom she never ceased to hate in their black habits and white coifs, and the fact that spicing the black of a dress with white collar and cuffs perversely made an aristocrat into a indoor servant who served the tea and ran the bath water, and you have the sort of complex Rubik cube that so much of Chanel's fashion had.

As the century morphed into the '20s, Chanel was acknowledged as one of the great fashion leaders not only in Paris, but across the globe. Her style and palette seems as modern today as it was then: chic and sportive during the day, based on crisp, flattering linearity and romantic at night. It is often forgotten that in the '20s and '30s, she created feminine evening dresses of that gave women as much authority as her day wear did.

She didn't have everything her own way, of course there were other important couturiers in Paris, not least Vionnet, Madame Grès and Lanvin and her two arch rivals, Patou in the '20s and Schiaparelli in the '30s. Guarding her own position, she did everything to denigrate them and their style. Patou had great success in America - already emerging as a crucially lucrative market for French fashion, and one well worth fighting for. Schiaparelli had a fairground boldness and wit, which grabbed the headlines every season, to Chanel's deep chagrin.

Edna Woolman Chase, editor-in-chief of American, French and British Vogue for over half a century, frequently had run-ins with Chanel over how many editorial pages were devoted to her and to Patou. She objected to her clothes being featured on the same spread as his and frequently threatened to cancel her advertising if she couldn't have her own way. But Chase was every bit as tough as Chanel and it was usually the couturier who had to back down. As she observed: "Chanel has the spirit of a Till Eulenspiegel...One could never be sure whether her mischief making was deliberate or unconscious." I think the judgement of history would be less ambivalent.

Chanel spent World War II holed up in the Ritz with her German officer, von Dincklage, having closed down her business in 1939. With the cessation of war, France was out to punish those who had collaborated with the German occupation force. It was considered expedient for Chanel to leave France and she was spirited away to Switzerland, with the agreement of Winston Churchill it has always been rumoured.

And there Coco Chanel's career could have stopped, and she would have still held the honoured place she does today. But, instead, she decided to make a comeback - a risky decision for an old woman no longer in sympathy with the current fashions. Known as one of the leading modernises and directional creators of fashion in the 20th century, she had also, in Chanel No. 5, given the world its best known and most popular fragrance. Gossip at the time said that it was No. 5 that forced her decision, as it was losing its pole position without the glamour of clothes and fashion shows to bolster sales. Others claimed that it was Chanel's personal hatred of homosexual designers who, in the '50s, dominated Paris couture. Although she admired and accepted Balenciaga as a great craftsman as well as creator, she saw Dior, Balmain and others as undoing all the work she had done to simplify and modernise women's dress. She was determined to stop their chauvinistic romanticism (as it seemed to her) making overdressed masculine trophies of the modern woman whom she had worked so hard to create as a powerful being, largely dependant of men.

Chanel presented her new collection on February 5 1954. The French press, still unforgiving of her behaviour during the war, were lukewarm but the American and British press saw her soft, little suits as a breakthrough uniting chic and youth in a fresh accessible way. Chanel had pulled off a coup and a miracle. The Chanel suit is a standard garment in modern fashion, worn by teenagers as well as their grandmothers. And the miracle? She was 71 when she made her comeback. She died, alone, in 1971, aged 88, after a hard day's work. Since that time more words have been written about her than any other fashion designer of the 20th century.

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In the fourth instalment of BoF's fashion history series, we meet the creator of the "little black dress," who took her cues from a country in mourning. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the designer doyenne who founded fashion's most famous house, used her lovers' money to establish herself and rewrote the rulebook with her mannish collections.

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You can buy Chanel fragrance, cosmetics, skincare and sunglasses online, but fashion is a no-go — and a change in strategy looks unlikely any time soon.

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To receive the free Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.

You can buy Chanel fragrance, cosmetics, skincare and sunglasses online, but fashion is a no-go - and a change in strategy looks unlikely any time soon.

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To receive the free Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here . You can buy Chanel fragrance, cosmetics, skincare and sunglasses online, but fashion is a no-go - and a change in strategy looks unlikely any time soon.

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Chanel and Farfetch sign an exclusive innovation partnership deal to create a customised augmented retail experience in Chanel's boutiques.

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* Chanel and Farfetch sign an exclusive innovation partnership deal to create a customised augmented retail experience in Chanel's boutiques
* Multi-year global partnership to develop a range of digital initiatives in-store and out-of-store
CHANEL, one of the world's leading luxury companies operating in Fashion, Fragrance and Beauty, Watches and Fine Jewellery, and Farfetch, the leading global technology platform for the fashion industry, have announced an exclusive global multi-year Innovation Partnership deal which will see the two companies work together to develop a range of digital initiatives which will deliver an unparalleled customer experience both offline and online, in-store and out-of-store. The partnership is the first of its kind in the luxury retail industry.

The two companies have been collaborating for several months on how to bring together CHANEL's expertise in luxury retailing and its focus on impeccable client service with Farfetch's expertise in digital innovation and technology, leading to today's announcement. CHANEL and Farfetch share a converging vision of the future of retail. Both believe technology today allows customers to expect ultra-personalised experiences in their real and digital lives and demand for those two worlds to be seamlessly connected.

Farfetch's Augmented Retail vision provides the in-store experience of the future by giving insights of the customers' preferences both in the boutique and overall. With this partnership, CHANEL will leverage Farfetch's global technology platform to create its own Augmented Retail experience and enhance the boutique experience for customers, as the first of many initiatives the companies will collaborate on.

CHANEL strongly believes that engaging with customers in boutique thanks to the exclusivity of CHANEL's 8 yearly collections and the emotion they convey is a key pillar for an optimal customer experience. Jose Neves, Founder and CEO of Farfetch said: "It is truly an honour to be partnering with CHANEL to accelerate the development of technology-driven initiatives which will ensure they remain at the forefront of retail excellence and elevate the already unparalleled level of luxury experience for its clients that CHANEL is renowned for.

We believe the future of luxury fashion retailing hinges on reinventing the customer experience - both online and offline. We call this vision "Augmented Retail" - taking the magic of the physical boutique experience and bringing it together with the advantages of online and digital services. We have been investing more than anyone in technology and consumer insights to make this vision a reality."

Bruno Pavlovsky, CHANEL's Fashion President, said: "We are very enthusiastic about this Innovation Partnership and look forward to implementing the first steps of our projects together. We want to offer our clients the opportunity to further experience the brand values and to feel something which is authentic and unique to CHANEL. We strongly believe that digital will never replace the feeling of being in a fitting room and trying on a CHANEL piece. We are confident that Farfetch's innovative technology will help us develop an even more outstanding customer journey by combining a great e-service offering with a genuine CHANEL boutique experience."

As part of the partnership, CHANEL has invested in Farfetch, joining its existing shareholders.

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Chanel To Partner With Farfetch - About Farfetch

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Chanel and Farfetch sign an exclusive innovation partnership deal to create a customised augmented retail experience in Chanel's boutiques * Multi-year global partnership to develop a range of digital initiatives in-store and out-of-store CHANEL, one of the world's leading luxury companies operating in Fashion, Fragrance and Beauty, Watches and Fine Jewellery, and Farfetch, the leading global technology platform for the fashion industry, have announced an exclusive global multi-year Innovation Partnership deal which will see the two companies work together to develop a range of digital initiatives which will deliver an unparalleled customer experience both offline and online, in-store and out-of-store.

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Chanel at Sloane St. and Harrods Primary Research

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Chanel's Lipscanner Technology - Secondary Research

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Chanel's Lipscanner Technology - Secondary Research

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Taking into consideration your skin tone, age, and lip shape, the Lipscanner technology can identify and extract the exact shade and texture of any physical or digital image you come across.

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AI, AR, VR, or any form of virtual reality, isn't a new concept within the beauty industry, but it certainly is a remarkable one. Virtual reality has always stirred a web of speculation and curiosity amongst tech-savvy enthusiasts, and whether the enriching digital-based experience was put to the test by mass brands like Nike and IKEA, or luxury fashion houses such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, augmented reality is the once-niche concept that is turning traditional ways of shopping and experiencing products into a revolutionary trend.

It isn't surprising that the pandemic has helped accelerate the digital innovation in the beauty space. With retail shops temporarily closing their doors around the world, consumers have been driven online to fuel their beauty needs. To help make the online shopping experience easier, retailers are using AI technology - and it's working. "In the US, Ulta Beauty reported that consumer engagement for its GlamLab virtual reality tool increased fivefold since the coronavirus outbreak," Erin Schmidt from Coresight Research told POPSUGAR. "Management reported very early in the pandemic (in June 2020) that its GlamLab tool had seen more than 19 million shade try-ons". And it's not just beauty retailers seeing growth thanks to AI try-on technology, either. Since launching its iMatch Virtual Shade Expert tool in December 2019, Estée Lauder has rolled out the technology across its different divisions, and the brand's latest report highlights the push toward the digital frontier. "Virtual try-ons drove over twice the engagement, as well as higher conversion and retention rates, doubling the number of sessions from the previous quarter in its second quarter earnings report of 2021, dated 5 Feb., 2021," Schmidt highlighted.

From the comfort of your own home, you can now lean on technology to decide on your next hair colour, flip through the 15 eyeshadow shades in 15 seconds, or tailor a bespoke lipstick collection to your preferred tone. Chanel, however, has taken the virtual try-on experience one step further with the launch of its Lipscanner technology, the first AI scanner that is able to take any image - a photograph, social media post, magazine, even a person standing right in front of you - and match it to a lip colour from the brand's vast collection of over 400 lip products.

Chanel unveiled its latest technology for IOS devices (available free via Apple's App store) on 22 Feb., which "combines our makeup savoir-faire with AI to bring Chanel's entire range of lip products to our customers' fingertips in real-time," Cédric Begon, director of the Connected Experience Lab at Chanel Fragrances and Beauty, shared via press release.

Taking into consideration your skin tone, age, and lip shape, the Lipscanner technology can identify and extract the exact shade and texture of any physical or digital image you come across. In the app, you can immediately scan the colour that catches your interest (like the vibrant red of the quilted Chanel handbag above), discover the corresponding Chanel lipstick, and try it on to see if it's an instant match. "You can enjoy the emotion of trying the product on yourself and the connection with your initial desire for a colour or a look. Whether you want to feel more powerful, confident, or beautiful, it's the closest thing to applying lipstick in person," said Begon.

The patented Lipscanner technology is the result of "intensive algorithm-training", which required a collaboration between both Chanel's Makeup Creation Studio and CX Lab team. "Drawing from tens of thousands of images, beauty experts worked alongside engineers to train an algorithm that can seamlessly identify and 'extract' the exact lip shade and texture of any physical or digital image to find the closest colour and texture match," the brand said via press release. "The app's augmented reality technology renders the corresponding products on any face to allow customers to try-on the closest match to the colour and finish they have seen."

Chanel isn't the only brand mastering the art of AI and AR to help consumers navigate this shift in focus to e-commerce. Partnering with YouCam, M.A.C Cosmetics launched its in-store virtual try-on mirrors four years ago, but introduced a similar AR try-on tool on its website in August 2019 to pivot with the digital demand. "The try-on offering uses YouCam's augmented reality technology to create photorealistic simulations of more than 800 shades of our eye, lip, and foundation products," Drew Elliott, SVP & global creative director at M.A.C Cosmetics, told POPSUGAR. "We are very diligent about ensuring the accuracy of our products. We have a comprehensive matching process to get it right, which includes a close evaluation of the Pantone of each shade, a matching software, live artist adjustments, and a panel of internal testing experts".

This focus on digital shopping tools, whether that's via AI/AR tools or online consultations with a brand's beauty experts, is something beauty trend forecasters believe is here to stay - even after the pandemic slows down. "The door is now open for innovation in virtual try-ons and digital consultations, as well as sustainable sampling. Quick adaptation and a willingness to embrace the new frontier in consumer engagement will prove key in reaching, and retaining, new consumers," Jenni Middleton, director of WGSN Beauty, a beauty trend forecasting company, told POPSUGAR. "Many brands were making strategic partnerships with virtual try-on tool providers, or developing their own tech, before the pandemic, but now these 'nice to have' products have become urgent 'must haves'".

The list of brands with virtual try-on technology or apps is only growing. Redken has its Virtual Shade Selector, which allows you to "try on" one of the brand's 70 different hair-dye shades by either taking a photo or uploading one. L'Oréal Paris's hair and makeup virtual bundle offers you a vast amount of products to experiment with including blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick, and permanent hair colour, while Charlotte Tilbury's virtual 'Magic Mirror' allows consumers to use their phone cameras to play with different shades and makeup styles before purchasing. With brands such as Lancôme, Nars, and OPI in the mix, it is no wonder that on a global scale, the idea of testing product IRL may one day become a thing of the past.

Whilst we can clearly note that virtual try-on is breaking new ground, it is pivotal to line the technology up against accuracy and precision. "The availability of AR try-ons is certainly helping to boost sales - recent data revealed interactions with AR content had a 94 percent higher conversion rate than those without - but getting the technology right is key," said Middleton. "ModiFace found there was a 22 percent drop in conversion rates when virtual products didn't line up or appear correctly on the face." This is where Chanel take its Lipscanner that step further with exacting standards and precision that ensure the validity and accuracy of the technology to mould to the customer's lip structure, as opposed to just placing the colour in the designated area. Its speed and analysis is what sets this reputable technology apart, catapulting the strength of the VR that was originally years ahead in terms of adaption only moments away.

The future is looking colourful for virtual technology.

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Chanel's New Lipscanner Technology Is Proof That Virtual Reality Beauty Testing Is Here to Stay

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AI, AR, VR, or any form of virtual reality, isn't a new concept within the beauty industry, but it certainly is a remarkable one.

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Climate Report Chanel - Secondary Research 

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Climate Report Chanel - Secondary Research 

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We also partner with scientists and academic institutions to explore areas of research which could hold the key to future climate solutions. Chanel is currently in a six-year partnership with École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in the funding of a research chair to better understand the links between the carbon cycle and climate change in oceans, through three key pillars: prediction, mitigation and adaptation.

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We also partner with scientists and academic institutions to explore areas of research which could hold the key to future climate solutions. Chanel is currently in a six-year partnership with École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in the funding of a research chair to better understand the links between the carbon cycle and climate change in oceans, through three key pillars: prediction, mitigation and adaptation.

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Chanel Mission 1.5 - Climate Strategy (Secondary Research)

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Chanel Mission 1.5 - Climate Strategy (Secondary Research)

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Interview with Pavlovsky - Secondary Research 

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Interview with Pavlovsky - Secondary Research 

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Interview with Chanel's President of Fashion - Bruno Pavlovsky

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Chanel and the University of Cambridge announce a new partnership to focus on sustainability solutions and leadership

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27 April 2021 - Chanel has today announced a new three-year partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).

This unique multi-faceted partnership will combine tailored sustainability education programmes, innovative operational projects, and scholarships focused on driving greater inclusion. It will draw on expertise from across the University of Cambridge, including the Institute of Manufacturing, the Cambridge Judge Business School and its climate change initiative, Cambridge Zero to advance practical sustainability solutions to specific business and societal challenges including how to reduce and avoid carbon emissions and address biodiversity loss.

The Chanel-CISL partnership will initially focus on three main streams of work:

Building an education and sustainability leadership programme

Professional development on sustainability topics is critical to drive change and this is mirrored by the widespread appetite among Chanel employees to learn more about these subjects. CISL will help structure a customised education programme for Chanel management and key operational teams to raise awareness and deepen knowledge on diverse topics ranging from biodiversity and climate change to the use of materials and resources.

Innovative operational projects

The partnership will launch a series of three innovation "sprints", each lasting up to 18 months. Each sprint will frame key questions and bring together insights and expertise from across Cambridge University to accelerate innovation within Chanel on business challenges and opportunities, initially relating to specific products and processes in Fashion along with its wider business. CISL will then bring together a pool of experts to help accelerate innovative ideas and to prototype solutions for direct application within Chanel.

Supporting today's students to create tomorrow's leaders

Chanel will sponsor individuals from under-represented backgrounds to join CISL's Masters in Sustainability Leadership programme over the next three years, providing the largest support of a masters programme by a single company. Chanel will also work with students from across the University of Cambridge to help them apply smart ideas to real-world problems and advance Chanel's sustainable transformation strategy.

This partnership builds on Chanel's strong relationship with CISL over several years, focusing on sustainability education and research.

Chanel's collaboration with Cambridge University builds on the company's journey to work with leading academic institutions, mission-driven sustainability organisations, NGOs, industry associations and governments around the world to support research and action on topics key to its sustainable transformation journey.

Andrea d'Avack, Chief Sustainability Officer at Chanel, said:

"Sustainability is one of the critical challenges facing our society today and a key strategic priority for Chanel. We are delighted to partner with one of the world's most prestigious universities and academic institutes. This new partnership reflects key pillars of our business transformation: from research and insights that deepen our understanding to finding tangible solutions that positively impact our supply chain and wider communities. This is underpinned by educational initiatives that will help to embed a sustainability mindset to accelerate change."

Clare Shine, Director and Chief Executive Officer, CISL said:

"For over 800 years, the University of Cambridge has been at the forefront of driving change. CISL has an unrivalled track record of building leadership capability, advancing knowledge and delivering real-world solutions. This is a really important partnership with Chanel that can generate long-term benefits at global scale. Many of the solutions required for truly sustainable economies and societies do not yet exist, are not commercially viable or are not yet fully scalable. We believe that this bold research-backed initiative will help Chanel in its ongoing efforts to shape the future of luxury, inform leadership and best practices, and inspire responsible businesses around the world."

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Chanel and the University of Cambridge announce a new partnership to focus on sustainability solutions and leadership

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This unique multi-faceted partnership will combine tailored sustainability education programmes, innovative operational projects, and scholarships focused on driving greater inclusion. It will draw on expertise from across the University of Cambridge, including the Institute of Manufacturing, the Cambridge Judge Business School and its climate change initiative, Cambridge Zero to advance practical sustainability solutions to specific business and societal challenges including how to reduce and avoid carbon emissions and address biodiversity loss.

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Chanel's Gen Z strategy - Secondary Research 

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Chanel's Gen Z strategy - Secondary Research 

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Why Chanel made Lily Rose Depp an ambassador

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PARIS, France - At just 18 years old, Lily-Rose Depp is the ultimate in fashion royalty. The daughter of American actor Johnny Depp - almost as well known for dating industry idols and Winona Ryder as he is for playing Captain Jack Sparrow - and French singer Vanessa Paradis, a forever muse of designer Karl Lagerfeld, her pathway to the red carpet was practically preordained.

"We were already talking to Lily-Rose when she was 10 or 11 years old," recalls Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion. "Not as an influencer, but because she is Vanessa's daughter and we believe there is a story of Chanel about mothers and daughters. That's part of the DNA of the brand, to be able to talk to all of these generations."

It also helps that Depp inherited her mother's bee-stung lips and lithe frame; model looks worthy of attention regardless of her surname. By the time she hit her early teens, it was clear that Depp would not serve as a bit player in the drama we call fashion, but instead assume a bigger role.

It went without saying that Depp, an aspiring actress slated to star in comedic auteur Kevin Smith's next film, would enter the world of couture via Chanel, where she is currently the face of its No.5 L'Eau fragrance. She also almost exclusively wears Lagerfeld's designs for red carpet appearances, which are increasing in frequency as she racks up more acting roles. "Not only is it a brand I've known and loved for my whole life through my mother's relationship with them, but to me Chanel has always been the best of the best," says Depp. "I think Chanel's charm is completely unique and you almost can't explain it, but there's a certain magic that runs through the maison and everything they create."

Chanel's casting of Depp as the star of its No.5 L'Eau campaign comes as little surprise. The original Chanel No.5 fragrance remains a pillar of the house and a primary driver of revenue, but it has long been associated with an aging customer. L'Eau offers a lighter, refreshing spin on the classic, much like Depp herself.

It also falls right in line with Chanel's long-term celebrity strategy: to court ambassadors for whom Lagerfeld possesses a true affinity, from Inès de la Fressange to Caroline de Maigret. The legendary designer's tastes vary. For instance, he likes both Katy Perry and Keira Knightley. And while youth is not a prerequisite, it is more common than not.

Besides De Maigret, who is 42 and currently starring in the house's campaign for its newly introduced "Gabrielle" suite of handbags, most of Chanel's recent faces are Millennials or members of Gen-Z. Along with Depp (18), there is Willow Smith (16) fronting an eyewear campaign, Cara Delevingne (25) posing in runway looks and with a Gabrielle bag, and Kristen Stewart (27), a perennial pick, posing with just about anything.

"The term ambassador, ambassadress, is very important to us. They need to be able to talk about the brand, to be able to explain the brand, to feel the brand. Every time we have done something that has no link with the brand it fails," Pavlovsky says. "To be able to develop such a relationship with Lily-Rose, Kristin, Vanessa Paradis, it's more about having something to share. They need to be connected with Mr Lagerfeld, with [image director] Eric Pfrunder, with [studio director] Virginie Viard. It's not that you simply have a contract and you come in and fulfill obligations. You can do that, but I'm not sure about the impact of doing it like that."

While the average age of a consumer of personal luxury goods in the US is more than 47 years old, according to a 2015 report by research firm Unity Marketing, youth has long driven the fashion industry's advertising strategies. According to a 2014 report from Bain, shoppers over 49 years old account for more than half of global luxury spending.

I think Chanel's charm is completely unique and you almost can't explain it... there's a certain magic that runs through the maison.

Macabre or not, if fear of one's own mortality could be linked to discretionary spending, as several studies have suggested, it's common sense that those doing the buying would be attracted to brands that communicate youth and vitality. What's more, the age of the luxury consumer is far younger in countries like China where the middle class is rising. There, the average luxury consumer was 33.1 years old in 2015 and 80 percent of consumers of such goods were between the ages of 25 and 44, according to consumer research firm Bomoda.

To survive far into the future, brands like Chanel must engage a new generation of consumers. By 2025, Millennials and Gen-Z are expected to account for 45 percent of the global market for personal luxury goods, according to Bain & Company.

One of the biggest considerations for brands must be the rise of the "experience economy". In the US, still the world's largest consumer market, three out of four Millennials and Generation Z favour spending money on experiences over physical goods, according to a 2017 survey conducted by GaloreMag in partnership with The Business of Fashion. Even in China, the world's largest driver of luxury growth, where there is no shortage of new wealth creation and traditional modes of marketing (celebrity + rarefied brand = desire) tend to perform better, Millennials are shifting their spending to experiences like travel.

Then there's the rise of social media, which has entirely rewired the path to purchase. "The big change that we have seen because of digital is that people are connected earlier and earlier, and these people know everything they want to know much earlier," Pavlovsky says. "Everyone can say something about the brand, everything that we are doing everywhere in the world is now commented on by millions of people and all of these people have a point of view. This generation knows everything they want to know already. We need to bring something to the conversation, we need to offer something on top of that."

It might be assumed, then, that selecting someone like Depp as a brand ambassador has as much to do with her 3.3 million Instagram followers as it does her industry pedigree - even if the image-sharing platform is banned in China. "It's the only social media platform I've ever been on... for some reason the other ones just don't appeal to me," Depp says. "There's something more fun and artistic about taking pictures... and I like to stay pretty private so sharing the occasional picture is plenty for me."

But is it plenty for Chanel?

BoF enlisted digital solutions agency Preen.me to gather intelligence on the house's social media presence, analysing conversation about Chanel on Instagram - meaning any tagged posting, likes or comments - between January 1, 2017 and August 1, 2017. The resulting sample set includes 3.4 million unique Instagram posts from 633,547 users that resulted in 363 million likes and comments.

Social media chatter around Chanel is strongest in Russia, which accounts for 32 percent of the conversation, compared to 15 percent in the US and 13 percent in Continental Europe. And since the beginning of 2017, social postings related to Chanel have grown, on average, 15 percent month-to-month, with social actions - likes and comments associated with those posts - increasing 7.8 percent on average.

The greatest spike in conversation did not come from a new campaign drop or an influencer posting, but instead from Chanel's runway shows and, in particular, the haute couture shows that took place in January and July. What's more, while Depp, the social media-allergic Stewart and Delevingne (40.6 million Instagram followers) are each responsible for driving roughly the same amount of conversation around Chanel - 0.23, 0.24 and 0.22 percent, respectively, year to date, or barely anything - 48 percent of all social posts and 34 percent of all social actions around Chanel originate from accounts with less than 10,000 followers. That means, for the first time ever, it is the cult of Chanel that's driving the conversation, not Chanel itself.

"We see this new generation coming into the boutique and quite often, they know more about the brand than our organisation and people," Pavlovsky says. "So how do we rebalance the relationship, the dialogue? At the same time, we want to continue to give our point of view... How do we give them the right information so they don't start to have their own vision of Chanel, which is not the right one? It's not about liking what we're doing, it's more to be able to be sure that they have the right content."

In many ways, the numbers indicate that Chanel - which has been creating digital content since at least 2010 - has done an impressive job of guiding, if not controlling, the conversation. According to Preen.me, Chanel's official Instagram account is still the best at compelling followers to take action via likes or comments about the brand, followed by Delevingne, South Korean actress Park Shin-hye, South Korean rapper , Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin and YouTube influencer Jeffree Star, some of whom were paid to mention Chanel, some of whom were not.

What does it mean that neither Depp nor Stewart are driving social media actions, while Star - who posed with a Chanel tennis racket while wearing a denim Supreme x Louis Vuitton jacket for his July 2017 "holy grails" video, which has been viewed over 2 million times at the time of writing - is generating clicks? And if those clicks have some correlation to purchase intent, what can Chanel do to make the most of them? As the currency of traditional celebrities is falling while the currency of self-made stars is rising, finding evangelists able (and willing) to drive numbers while adhering to a brand's preferred message and delivery is increasingly difficult.

"I don't want to measure too many things," Pavlovsky says. "It's also about emotion. I'd rather have less [social actions] and more emotion than big numbers and nothing left. When people don't like what we are doing, it's fine. You are not obliged to like everything."

It's certainly a new world for a brand so predicated on a fantasy first constructed by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in the 1920s. Since Lagerfeld's revitalisation of the house in the early 1980s - right about the time many of its newest customers were born - Chanel and its long-time owners, the Wertheimer family, have navigated the ever-changing luxury landscape by retaining control over every aspect of its messaging, from the ribbed twist cap on a bottle of nail polish to the receding square light fixtures that line the ceiling of every Peter Marino-designed store. It also helps that the Wertheimers have managed to maintain a working relationship with one creative director - and his generation's finest styliste, at that - guaranteeing that the house's identity remains strong, rivalled only by leather goods house Hermès (also family owned) in terms of reputation.

That consistency, combined with Lagerfeld's own penchant for the new and a marketing budget that has often outpaced competitors, helped to deliver decades of enviable results. "Nobody could outspend them in terms of celebrity endorsements," says one former beauty conglomerate executive. Chanel, for some time, has been the guiding light for other luxury houses. In 2017 terms, it is #goals in the ultimate sense.

For many women, Chanel continues to represent a rite of passage. That's often the purchase of her first "grown up" fragrance: Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, Chance Eau Tendre and No.5 each remained in the top five best-selling fragrances in the US from 2010 to 2015, according to a report by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

It can also mean collecting $28 nail polishes - often inspired by the runway collections - or buying her first chain-link handbag, more often than not a "2.55" flap bag, first introduced in 1955 and refreshed by Lagerfeld in 1990. The "Boy" bag, introduced in 2011, riffs on the flap bag with a more structured frame, while the "Gabrielle," which Chanel rolled out in 2017 via a major campaign including Stewart, Delevingne, De Maigret and Pharrell Williams, is the house's cleaned-up version of a carryall. Visit one of the posh neighbourhoods of Paris and it's not atypical to see a teenage or college girl wearing a Chanel pocketbook, slung across the body with all the casualness of a plastic high street find.

And yet, as the world changes, so must Chanel's strategy. While the private company's financials are closely held, the firm did release figures in both August 2016 and August 2017 that suggest its approach may be gathering dust.

Valued by some analysts at more than $20 billion globally, Chanel International BV - a Dutch holding company incorporated in 1979 that is part of the Chanel empire - reported operating profit of $1.6 billion in the year ending December 31, 2015, a 23 percent decline from the previous year. Revenues that year were $6.24 billion, down 17 percent year-over-year. Another filing in France pertaining to cosmetics and fragrances indicated that the company generated €2.6 billion in that category ($3 billion at current exchange) in 2015, a 21 percent drop from the year before.

In 2016, the holding company generated $5.67 billion in revenue, down roughly 10 percent from 2015. Its net income fell almost 35 percent from $1.34 billion to $874 million, with operating income dipping 20 percent to $1.28 billion, resulting in a 22.5 percent decline in profitability. Chanel International BV's contraction is partially explained by the sale of its subsidiary Chanel UK (which represents approximately 11 percent of its sales) to another entity, which is also under its control.

These reports do not specify what regions or categories were represented in the figures they contain, which means they may not tell the whole story. But according to a source familiar with the company's structure, the $6.24 billion in revenue reported in 2015 does almost certainly reflect the size of the business globally that year, including sales of fragrance and beauty, as well as revenues linked to other brands owned by the Wertheimer family, such as swimsuit label Eres and firearms company Holland & Holland. What was not communicated in the filing with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce was the revenue lost in both 2015 and 2016 due to the April 2015 sale of the Bourjois beauty brand to Coty. (Chanel received 15.43 million shares of Coty's Class A Common Stock, equivalent to about $240 million at the time.)

This generation knows everything they want to know already. We need to bring something to the conversation, we need to offer something on top of that.

The company confirmed with BoF that, on a like-for-like basis, Chanel's actual results were flat in 2015 compared to the year before. In 2016, revenue remained stable, it said.

And yet, it is perhaps not without coincidence that global chief executive Maureen Chiquet exited the company at the beginning of 2016, with Chanel citing "differences of opinion about the strategic direction".

At the time of the announcement, the company said that chairman Alain Wertheimer - the grandson of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's original business partner, Pierre Wertheimer - would serve as interim chief executive while a search took place. However, according to Chanel, no immediate transition is planned. Instead, Alain Wertheimer, who assumed more responsibility to "ensure continuity", is working in close collaboration with other members of the leadership team.

Despite challenges, Chanel remains an industry leader. That edge could be attributed to the feeling of "magic", as Depp calls it, associated with the brand. After all, it's a quality that is increasingly difficult to detect in other brands, even in a fantasy world like fashion. The keen interest around its couture shows reflects this. But Chanel is aware it needs to evolve.

"We have to be clear about what we offer to this new generation. It's a new lever," Pavlovsky says. "We have to organise ourselves to be ready to be quite sharp in what we want to communicate."

The brand's L'Eau fragrance and Gabrielle handbag launches are key pillars in its new offensive. "We want to cross what the brand wants with their own brand perception," says Pavlovsky on the digital influencers the company chose for its Gabrielle campaign. "To be able to have more impact on this new generation, you have to offer something that is more than just the vision of the brand. But on top of that you need to have influencers who can also react to this vision."

What that doesn't include is a push to actually turn those clicks into conversions. While eyewear, fragrance and skincare are available to purchase via Chanel.com and other e-commerce outlets, and there have been one-off experiments selling jewellery with the likes of Net-a-Porter, handbags, shoes and clothing are off limits and will remain so - for now.

It's a risky move, given that consumers at least want to see and explore products online, even if the final purchase happens in a physical store. In a Deloitte survey of UK Millennial luxury consumers, 58 percent said that they most often buy luxury products through online channels. More than half is not a percentage to ignore, even if the UK generally indexes high on e-commerce. Similar patterns are taking hold in other areas of the world. In a 2017 study of 2,000 US shoppers commissioned by luxury marketplace Farfetch and conducted by Bain & ., those aged 25 to 35 said 9 percent of their first luxury purchases were made online, compared to only 3 percent of 45 to 54-year-olds. Bain projects that by 2025, a quarter of all luxury goods will be purchased online and that Millennials and Gen-Z will represent 45 percent of luxury spending globally.

"We are probably one of the last business models based on creation, and we want to continue that," Pavlovsky says. "That doesn't mean that one day we will not do e-commerce, but we are not rushing... because we want to propose the best experience." At the moment, according to Pavlovsky, the customer buying Chanel's accessories and ready-to-wear appreciates the exclusivity that comes with the goods being available in-boutique only.

"You can click on everything, you can buy whatever you want on e-commerce, and if you buy it with a good retailer, you can have this stuff 90 minutes later," he notes, acknowledging that widespread convenience increases overall customer expectations. "We believe at Chanel we can put ourselves in the same direction, but we are not obliged to do exactly the same thing others are doing." In that way, history may be on the house's side.
This article appears in BoF's latest special print edition: "Generation Next". The issue is available for purchase at shop.businessoffashion.com and at select retailers around the world. Did you know that BoF Professionals receive our print issues first? Annual BoF Professional memberships also include unlimited access to articles, exclusive analysis, invitations to networking events and the members-only app. Not a BoF Professional? Subscribe here.

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PARIS, France - At just 18 years old, Lily-Rose Depp is the ultimate in fashion royalty. The daughter of American actor Johnny Depp - almost as well known for dating industry idols and Winona Ryder as he is for playing Captain Jack Sparrow - and French singer Vanessa Paradis, a forever muse of designer Karl Lagerfeld, her pathway to the red carpet was practically preordained.

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My annotations:

Revenue:
- Nike is the larger business overall and market leader in the global sports footwear industry with revenues from footwear over $24,2 billion in 2018 (includes converse).
- Adidas footwear revenue in 2018 was $15 billion (included reebok).
However Adidas has had more revenue growth as Adidas added $5.9 billion since 2015 (growing 17.6%) whereas Nike has only grown $4.3 billion at (6.8%).

Share Price:
Adidas has a higher share price performance in 2019 as Adidas shares are outperforming the market whereas Nike have been growing in line with industry performance.

Cool Factor:
Nike might be the bigger company but through sponsorship and an improving 'cool' factor, Adidas is clearly closing the gap.

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Trainers are big business, the global athletic shoe market was worth $58 billion in 2018 and is predicted to rise to $88 billion by 2024. With such a market size it's a lucrative market for sports brands and is keenly contested for market share. *

Despite a number of new entrants into space in recent years, APL to name but one, the market is still dominated by a small number of heavyweights. Nike and Adidas have been slugging it out to be the world champion in sport's shoes for a very long time and for anyone who has read Phil Knights fantastic book, Shoe Dog, you'll see the competition between the brands is a driver for both of their successes.

But who is currently winning this never-ending battle? Who is the top dog in the trainer market?
Revenues
Let's start by looking at revenues for the two brands. Nike is the larger business overall and the market leader in the global sports footwear industry with revenues from their footwear of over $ 24.2 billion in 2018, compared to Adidas footwear revenue of $15 billion. These figures include not only Nike and Adidas branded footwear but also Converse (owned by Nike) and Reebok (owned by Adidas).

In terms of revenue growth, Adidas footwear has added $5.8 billion since 2015 growing at an average rate of 17.6% whereas Nike footwear has only added $4.3 billion at an average rate of 6.8%.
Share Price
Clearly, a defining factor when considering who is winning in this market is the capitalization. Nike's market capitalization as of July 2019 stood at $140 billion - more than double that of Adidas's $65 billion - illustrating the scale of both businesses.

Adidas has been demonstrating a stronger share price performance in 2019 as Adidas shares are outperforming the market whereas Nikes' have been growing in line with industry performance.
Cool Factor
Again Adidas appears to be winning on this metric - having adopted a marketing approach which focuses more on streetwear sneakers through 'cooler' collaborations with music and celebrity influencers such as Kanye West and Beyonce as compared to Nike's more sports-focused approach. Clearly, with the athleisure trend moving sportswear from the gym to the office Adidas is betting that they can take even more of the market with this approach.

One man who knows about the Adidas/Nike rivalry more than most and has made a fortune collaborating with both is rapper Kanye West, named recently in Forbes' 2019 list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, in third place.

Kanye's celebrity status is undisputed - one of the most popular (and successful) rappers of his generation, he is also one-half of one of the most recognizable couples in the world through his marriage to Kim Kardashian. Only three years ago Kanye tweeted that he was $53 million in debt yet now the singer is reportedly enjoying an annual pre-tax income of at least $150 million. This turn around in his fortune is largely through his building of a $1 billion fashion empire through his sneaker brand Yeezy.

Originally partnering with Nike to sell his Yeezy trainers-releasing three styles over a five-year partnership, Kanye made a shock announcement in 2014 that he was doing the unimaginable and moving to Nikes' rivals Adidas

The first Adidas Yeezys were launched in February 2015 and the partnership has gone on to become one of the most successful partnerships of all time.

Yeezy sales are predicted to top $1.5 billion by the end of this year and their growth in popularity shows no sign of slowing.

Whereas Nikes' main collaboration is with a very different genre of celebrity; veteran basketball player Michael Jordan whose Air Jordan line of trainers for Nike currently holds the top spot for celebrity sneaker brands, generating approx $3 billion in sales each year. The first Air Jordans were launched in 1985 therefore whilst they remain popular they are now an established sneaker name and can no longer be described as having the cool factor.

Nike clearly recognizes this and in 2018 moved to tackle this conception through their sponsorship of Paris Saint Germain Football Club. This saw the football club be the first to wear Jordan merchandise and focused the advertising around their global superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe!

For Nike and Adidas the battle for footwear supremacy is continually ongoing and one that is the foundation of success for both businesses, especially with both pushing to grow their direct to consumer relationships. Nike might be the bigger company but through sponsorship and an improving 'cool' factor, Adidas is clearly closing the gap.

... Read More

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Adidas or Nike? Which Retail Giant is Winning The Sneakers War?

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Trainers are big business, the global athletic shoe market was worth $58 billion in 2018 and is predicted to rise to $88 billion by 2024. With such a market size it's a lucrative market for sports brands and is keenly contested for market share.

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Article - Are sneaker drops Sustainable?

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Article - Are sneaker drops Sustainable?

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My annotations:

- The sneaker drop model is sustained by continuous newness - a cycle that promotes overconsumption.
- Estimated in 2019 that global sneaker market was worth $100 billion, while the resale market was worth $6 billion.

Unhinged consumerism:
- Sustainability experts claim the fast-drop sneaker model is unhealthy.
- Sneaker brands have manufactured false needs in consumers, using the frequency and scarcity of drops.
- Sneakerheads are prepared to spend large sums.
- Counterfeiters are moving into supply missed collections and many people secure genuine products to flip them on StockX.

Scalable solutions:
- Brands could slow the rate of consumption by limiting the pace of sneaker drops, but there is little incentive to do so.
- Legislative action is one route, fines for the environmental/social impact brands have caused.

Designing to support sustainable behaviours:
- If brands sold spare parts and welded the soles differently, cobblers wouldn't have to buy a whole new 'donor pair' to replace a sole - sneakers will always be disposable if the sole isn't replaceable.
- Sustainable materials and initiatives already exist, but ultimately their success will be determined by how much brands invest in scaling them.
- If the current consumer enthusiasm for sustainable initiatives continues, brands will be incentivised to respond quicker.

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Sneaker drops keep coming. Are they sustainable?

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Consumer pressure is growing for a more sustainable sneaker industry. Here’s how brands can speed up their response.

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Primary Research for Chanel - Flagship v Selfridges

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Primary Research for Chanel - Flagship v Selfridges