“To be irreplaceable you must always be different.” (Clever quote) Coco Chanel has always been a trendsetter, never a follower. She was known for many things such as her infamous dress, little black dress, perfume and how she built her empire from nothing but her sheer talent. In my opinion she is the most influential person in the fashion world, especially as a child, most people would have given up and stopped pursuing their dreams. Not only did she manage to build her own empire, but she also remained true to herself, which normally wouldn't have happened. Coco Chanel's real name was Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, she was born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France. She was born to an unmarried mother, Eugénie "Jeanne" Devolle, a washerwoman, and her father, Albert Chanel, was a street vendor who sold work clothes and undergarments (Wikipedia). Coco was the second daughter out of five, she had two brothers and 2 other sisters. When she was 12 her mother died of bronchitis, soon after her father sent her and her two sisters to central France, to the convent of Aubazine, where he taught her to sew. School holidays were also spent with relatives in the provincial capital of Moulins, where Gabrielle learned to sew with more elegance than the nuns at the monastery could have taught her. When Gabrielle turned eighteen she was too old to stay in the convent, so she moved to the town of Moulins and worked as a tailor. When not working as a seamstress, Chanel made her stage debut singing cabaret at "La Rotonde". It was there that she earned the name "Coco", it is said that she was given the name based on two popular songs she sang along with, "Ko Ko Ri Ko" and "Qui qu'a vu Coco". At age 20 Coco Cha......middle of paper......that was the time she was alive but still doing it. In a sense, Chanel took the reins of the men who controlled the fashion industry and ran with them. Not only did he revolutionize women's clothing, but he also created a line of bags, a line of jewelry, a line of perfumes, and even influenced tanning. I think without Chanel designs and risk taking in general, women like a hole would be wearing Victorian-like things. was, instead of things like yoga pants and t-shirts. Even if we wore similar clothes in the Victorian era, we still wouldn't have the bags, perfumes or jewelry that she created because I think even designers always have that one person to inspire them and for most of them I think it would be Coco Chanel . Whether they realize it or not, they would use Chanel as motivation to be better or inspiration to be like Chanel.