The Real Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel lived her own life as a romantic heroine. Fuelled by 19th century literature, she built a life which was partly myth and, partly, factual. She was the fashion designer everyone admired. The business woman whose fortune was impossible to track. She was also a performer, lover of many high profile intellectuals and, as believed by many, a nazi spy. Her life was, extraordinarily, affected by history (the nazi movement and World War II), symbolism and literature. This biography explores her life from her troubled and poor past to the opening of her first hat shop, passions and secrets; the biography also draws parallelisms between myths and facts and how, and if ever, they match at all. The biography also features chapters on the Chanel Maison and the creation of her iconic trademark as well as her little black dress’ and Chanel No 5’. Finally, the biography ends with a reflection on how the myth of Coco Chanel is represented today in pop culture. AUTHOR: Rose Sgueglia is a writer and marketing consultant based in Cardiff. She is founder and director of Miss Squiggles, a magazine, marketing agency and online shop. As part of her role at Miss Squiggles, she works with clients on their social media, digital marketing and PR strategies. Rose is, also, a freelance journalist. Her work has been published in different publications including GQ, La Repubblica, and Yahoo. She holds a BA in Journalism, Film and Media and a Post Graduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University. Rose is author of Dear Miss Squiggles, a pocket book; available online and in different bookshops in the UK.
32 b/w illustrations