Let’s stop with the cutesy Coco Chanel quotes on social media

In the month of the 50th anniversary of Coco Chanel’s death, it’s time to ditch the cutesy quotes on IG and coffee table books of black and white photography with Mademoiselle’s pithy quotes. Instead let’s acknowledge the problematic aspects of the hero worship going on in the fashion and beauty community, forgetting and disregarding the WWII years of Chanel’s life. Here’s a closer look at the history of Chanel in WWII.

There’s no question that Coco Chanel has had a perennial impact on fashion and beauty. We wouldn’t have the Little Black Dress, a penchant for a summer tan, or an obsession with tweed and quilted handbags. Maybe we also wouldn’t have that many female designers today. She was a trailblazer in many ways.

But: quotes like the following disregard history in such a blatant way that’s simply unacceptable.

“During the second World War, Gabrielle Chanel found herself forced to withdraw from the fashion scene briefly, only to return in 1954.”

L’Officiel USA

Or:

“Despite her great success, Chanel closed the doors of her salon in 1939, when France declared war on Germany. Other couturiers left the country, but Chanel endured the war in Paris, her future uncertain.”

The Metropolitan Museum

Or:

“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, (…)”

Business of Fashion

I mean, WHAT?!??!

History matters

Before I explain what actually happened to Chanel in the war years, let’s take a detour to explain why it matters what happened to a female couturier 90 years ago.

History, and the correct depiction of it, matters. History is not something that happened independently from us hundreds of years ago. It’s not ‘just one damned thing after another’, the dates you had to remember at school. In the best case, the knowledge of what happened, how it happened and why it happened enables us to learn from it.

In the case of Chanel, she got off scot-free. Apparently, nobody wants to damage the pretty picture. People are much more interested in handbags and No. 5. Oh, by the way…

The story behind Chanel No. 5

The rich entrepreneur Wertheimer family from Alsace invested in Bourjois at the end of the 19^th century. They made it into the most successful French beauty company at the beginning of the 20^th. In 1924, Coco Chanel partnered with them to ensure a bigger distribution of her fragrance No. 5.

“For a seventy percent share of the company, the Wertheimers agreed to provide full financing for production, marketing and distribution of Chanel No. 5. (…) For ten percent of the stock, Chanel licensed her name to “Parfums Chanel” and removed herself from involvement in all business operations.”

Wikipedia

After a while, she must’ve felt that for only 10%, she had lost a very, very promising branch of business. For the next 30 years, she tried to get it back.

First, with lawsuits. Then, after the occupation of France by the Nazi regime in 1940, it wasn’t possible for people of Jewish origin to own businesses. In 1941, Chanel cited her ‘Aryan’ origin to petition the Vichy government (the French government collaborating with the Nazis) for sole ownership. The Wertheimer family, though, before fleeing to the US in 1940, had turned over the business to a Christian French businessman. He gave it back to them after the end of WW II. The Wertheimer family still went on to finance Chanel’s return into Haute Couture in the 50s.

The war years in Paris

The years between 1940 to 45 Chanel ‘endured’ in Paris per the Met. She ‘endured’ those living in the Ritz hotel, with her lover during that time, SS-officer Baron von Dincklage. The rest of the hotel was occupied by SS-officers. (Everything is detailed in Hal Vaughan’s book ‘Sleeping with the Enemy, Coco Chanel – Nazi Agent’, and in the 1947 biography by Edmonde Charles-Roux.)

She soon worked together with von Dincklage as a spy for the Nazi intelligence service. In 1943 she travelled with him to Berlin to plan for a role as messenger to Winston Churchill. Due to her connections to British High Society she was supposed to meet with him and propose a peace treaty between Great Britain and Nazi Germany. (That plan was called Operation Model Hat.)

After the end of WW II, she was questioned multiple times by the Allied Forces, but didn’t have to suffer any consequences.

Public reception

Charles-Roux’ biography was met by silence, while Vaughan’s, in 2011, made some controversy. The Chanel Group weakly claimed:

“What is certain is that she had a relationship with a German aristocrat during the War. Clearly it wasn’t the best period to have a love story with a German, even if Baron von Dincklage was English by his mother and she (Chanel) knew him before the War.”

Wikipedia

What is also certain are the events described above (there’re enough original documents to check). Chanel stayed away from Paris for nearly 10 years after the war, staying with von Dincklage in Switzerland.

And why is that important?!

There’s no way around it: people can do terrible things and still be beloved children of someone, or wonderful parents or spouses. There’s no easy way to combine that. I’m German, and my family’s history is rather ordinary: similar to nearly every German, there were members of my family who did support the Nazi regime. One of my grandfathers was a pilot for the Luftwaffe, while the other one was member of the resistance. I loved both of my Granddads when they were alive, even though one of them was very likely responsible for many deaths. Obviously, you can love (and be fascinated by) people who in private are wonderful parents, lovers, or friends.

Chanel, when it comes to that, must’ve been VERY charismatic, because the Wertheimer family went on and financed her return to fashion in 1954.

Coming to terms with history

The term ‘Vergangenheitsbewältigung’ is important in German (roughly translated to ‘coming to terms with history’). It means acknowledging the past and analyse it. After that, there should be disclosure of those facts to establish what really happened, however painful that may be, and learn from it, to prevent similar. (That is, of course, the both ideal and an on-going process.)

Because of that, I really, really think that Coco Chanel is the wrong role model to adoringly post of on Instagram. She was not a blind hanger-on and follower, but an anti-Semite and a homophobe (those are the quotes that aren’t posted).

She also actively embraced the benefits of belonging to a regime that’s responsible for 70 million deaths. 70. Million. There’s a woman who felt short-changed at a business deal and played the race card to get it back unlawfully – because she could. And there’s a woman who collaborated with the Nazis, actively worked for them and, apparently found her own worldview aligned with them.

Do you still want to post those cute lipstick quotes?