Reading Reflection No. 1

Chanel: An Intimate Life, by Lisa Chaney

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

·       What surprised you the most?

I didn’t know anything about Coco (Gabrielle) Chanel, only that she was a high couture fashion designer. I read the book written by Lisa Chaney because it was one of the few I was able to find, and honestly, it was very interesting. She was born at the end of the 19^th century and revolutionized the fashion industry for the two world wars, by creating comfortable, casual attire for women, as opposed to the high-end European fashion. It surprised me to know about her humble beginnings. His father was a merchant, and her mother a laundrywoman, but her family was really poor, and she was raised in an orphanage ran by nuns after her mother died, where she actually learned to sew. It surprised me to learn that it was because of her personality and her ability to sew that she became such an important designer. It is always amazing to learn that really famous and rich people come from humble beginnings.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I think her resilience, and how she was always defying norms imposed by society, about how women were supposed to act and dress. She was shamelessly subverting societal codes and expectations, she would sometimes dress as men (which was frowned upon back in the day), and she sustained several relationships with both men and women. I think she was so ahead of her time, and she was fearless about who she was and what it meant for her in the society she lived. I believe this influenced her designs a lot, and that is why they were so innovative. Although controversial at first, her garments became staple for the early 20^th century, especially for the working women of both the first and second World Wars.

She went on to shape the style of men and women In the 1900’s, and it was because of her witty, direct and creative personality, that people became curious about her, and yearned to work with her.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

According to the author, Gabrielle was impulsive and tended to act based on desire, so sometimes that could translate in erratic behavior or lack of professionalism, which might have hurt her practice sometimes, especially at the end of her career. She was the center of several scandals and affairs involving her relationships with other women, and sometimes married men, she as well, became addicted to several drugs, including morphine. She was also linked (to some extent) the Nazi movement during WWII. While the book goes more in depth into her relationships and personality, it talks about how there was suspicion of her being a Nazi agent, or at least having ties to Nazi officials. This hurt her career and her company terribly, especially in the US and the UK during the time after the war.  

·       Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, a lot! Being a woman back in the day, especially such a liberal, was not an easy thing. She overcame a horrible childhood of poverty, years of being a seamstress trying to prove herself and succeed in a world where nobody believed in her and maintaining her reputation as an extraordinarily creative designer, pushing her ideas in an audience that was not always excited to hear about them. She always overcame adversity, especially after WWII when she had to re-open her couture house and re-build her reputation. She always went head-on through problems, she never ran away from them.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Commitment to career, commercial awareness, decision making, leadership, innovation, creativity, management performance, commitment to excellence, public relations, spontaneity, trend seeker, persuasion, among others.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Sometimes I felt that the author made this book about her personal life too much and wouldn’t want to go in depth about certain aspects of Gabrielle’s life, that would’ve made it more interesting from an entrepreneurial point of view. It was not entirely confusing, just not very interesting.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

1.     If you could innovate for today’s fashion industry, what would inspire you? Would the changes in society and gender roles be an influence in the practicality of your design?

2.     If you hadn’t learned how to sew back in the orphanage, and you could’ve been an entrepreneur in any other field, what would’ve you done? Do you think you would’ve been as influential and iconic in that field as you were to the fashion industry?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think it requires a lot of resilience and being really headstrong to succeed in an industry that, back in the day, was dominated by men, and wouldn’t give you the opportunity to excel. Her innovative, brave and creative ideas are what differentiate it from everyone else, but it most have taken a special kind of courage and a lot of hard work to make them happen. I think people who come from humble beginnings, especially if they belong to a minority, have to work twice or three times as hard as others who are privileged, and it is that overcoming adversity that gives them the resilience to succeed. And that is an admirable quality.