"Jump out the window if you are the object of passion. Flee it if you feel it. Passion goes, boredom remains." – Coco Chanel
Social and political upheaval had taken over Europe in the mid 1930s. In France, the Socialist party took control of the parliament. More than 12,000 worker’s strikes occurred around the country, including Chanel's salon where the workers refused to let her enter until she promised larger salaries and benefits. She walked away, stubborn as always, and refused to submit to demands from her staff. However, Chanel was not immune to the changing world around her. She was replaced as president of her perfume, she was upstaged in the society pages by newer designers, and her much younger lover left her for a male photographer. By the end of the decade The Popular Front took over France's government, Franco's Communists gained control of Spain, and the Nazis rallied in Germany. By 1939 France declared war on Germany, and the Nazis invaded Paris. Chanel closed down her business and fled to Pau, where she had experienced such profound happiness with Boy Capel. Without her friends to surround her, her business to consume her, or the ability to travel abroad to entertain her, Coco became painfully bored. Surprisingly, she received a telegram from the Nazis directing her return to Paris. Years prior, Chanel had befriended a man named Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, also known as "Spatz," who was born to a German baron and English mother. He had developed an informal relationship with Coco while spying for Germany. The request for Chanel to return to Paris came from Spatz who took her as a lover despite being 10 years her junior. For Chanel, he was a way to ward off loneliness and isolation. She would endure much scrutiny and rejection for sleeping with the enemy. "At my age, when a man wants to sleep with you, you don't ask to see his passport." While France was under German occupation, Chanel tried to use the Nazi laws that forfeit Jewish businesses to take back control of her perfume, since the Wertheimers were Jewish. However, they had taken preventative action by putting their shares of the company into the hands of a French friend who sold weapons to the Germans. Not only did the law not apply to her attempted coup, but the Germans also needed the weapons more than they needed Chanel so they did not support her. However, just as Chanel tried to use the German law to her advantage, the Nazis tried to use Chanel to their advantage as well. Back in the 1920s, during her courtship with the Duke of Westminster, the wealthiest man in England, Chanel befriended Winston Churchill, now Prime Minister of England. As the Germans were losing ground in the Second World War, and the Allied forces were gaining, Churchill made it clear that nothing less than unconditional surrender by the Nazis would be accepted. At the direct request of the German army, Chanel tried to set up a meeting with Churchill to convince him to sign a peace treaty instead, allowing the Germans to save face. Not only did Churchill never meet with Chanel, she was promptly arrested by the French after the war for abetting the Germans. However, she was released through the urging of Churchill, whom still admired her for her strength of character and incredible work ethic. After the liberation of France, women who bedded the Germans were called "collaborateurs horizontales" ("horizontal collaborators"), and Chanel suffered such intense ridicule that she fled to Switzerland.
This color coordinated collection of fashion fabrics was first featured in our Vogue Fabrics By Mail Early Spring 2011 catalog of swatches. Subscribe to receive home delivery of these catalogs every other month.
Social and political upheaval had taken over Europe in the mid 1930s. In France, the Socialist party took control of the parliament. More than 12,000 worker’s strikes occurred around the country, including Chanel's salon where the workers refused to let her enter until she promised larger salaries and benefits. She walked away, stubborn as always, and refused to submit to demands from her staff. However, Chanel was not immune to the changing world around her. She was replaced as president of her perfume, she was upstaged in the society pages by newer designers, and her much younger lover left her for a male photographer. By the end of the decade The Popular Front took over France's government, Franco's Communists gained control of Spain, and the Nazis rallied in Germany. By 1939 France declared war on Germany, and the Nazis invaded Paris. Chanel closed down her business and fled to Pau, where she had experienced such profound happiness with Boy Capel. Without her friends to surround her, her business to consume her, or the ability to travel abroad to entertain her, Coco became painfully bored. Surprisingly, she received a telegram from the Nazis directing her return to Paris. Years prior, Chanel had befriended a man named Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, also known as "Spatz," who was born to a German baron and English mother. He had developed an informal relationship with Coco while spying for Germany. The request for Chanel to return to Paris came from Spatz who took her as a lover despite being 10 years her junior. For Chanel, he was a way to ward off loneliness and isolation. She would endure much scrutiny and rejection for sleeping with the enemy. "At my age, when a man wants to sleep with you, you don't ask to see his passport." While France was under German occupation, Chanel tried to use the Nazi laws that forfeit Jewish businesses to take back control of her perfume, since the Wertheimers were Jewish. However, they had taken preventative action by putting their shares of the company into the hands of a French friend who sold weapons to the Germans. Not only did the law not apply to her attempted coup, but the Germans also needed the weapons more than they needed Chanel so they did not support her. However, just as Chanel tried to use the German law to her advantage, the Nazis tried to use Chanel to their advantage as well. Back in the 1920s, during her courtship with the Duke of Westminster, the wealthiest man in England, Chanel befriended Winston Churchill, now Prime Minister of England. As the Germans were losing ground in the Second World War, and the Allied forces were gaining, Churchill made it clear that nothing less than unconditional surrender by the Nazis would be accepted. At the direct request of the German army, Chanel tried to set up a meeting with Churchill to convince him to sign a peace treaty instead, allowing the Germans to save face. Not only did Churchill never meet with Chanel, she was promptly arrested by the French after the war for abetting the Germans. However, she was released through the urging of Churchill, whom still admired her for her strength of character and incredible work ethic. After the liberation of France, women who bedded the Germans were called "collaborateurs horizontales" ("horizontal collaborators"), and Chanel suffered such intense ridicule that she fled to Switzerland.
This color coordinated collection of fashion fabrics was first featured in our Vogue Fabrics By Mail Early Spring 2011 catalog of swatches. Subscribe to receive home delivery of these catalogs every other month.
