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  • Once upon a time Gabrielle Chanel made a triumphant return, beginning as if from the first day.

  • She rails against the fashions designed by men who have once again bound women in bustiers, corsets and full skirts.

  • Mademoiselle rallies her team and reopens her couture house.

  • She's 70 years old.

  • Once upon a time Coco Chanel chose her lucky number as the date for her first runway show.

  • February 5th, 1954.

  • Sitting unseen at the top of the famous staircase on the rue Cambon, she watches as her models parade in utter silence.

  • The French press tears her apart, ridiculing her designs and sneering at her age.

  • Once upon a time America soon discovered and embraced the style of Chanel.

  • Life, the most read magazine in the United States writes, at 71 years old Gabrielle Chanel brings more than a style, a revolution.

  • Coco Chanel regains her influence and once again impresses her style upon the world.

  • Once upon a time there was a legendary Chanel suit with a military-inspired jacket in braided tweed, patch pockets, buttons like jewels and a unique fit thanks to the chain concealed within its hem.

  • Once upon a time, an instant classic, the Chanel suit was everywhere, seen in cities and in cinemas.

  • Worn by Marlon Dietrich, Brigitte Bardot, Romy Schneider, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman and Liz Taylor.

  • Once upon a time a fashion designer tirelessly pursued her life's work, each day adding to the allure of Chanel.

  • The beige shoe with its black toe, the quilted bag and its chained shoulder strap.

  • And later, as if in farewell, number 19.

  • Once upon a time, Gabrielle Chanel, terribly alone, conducted her fittings until the end.

  • Working the fabrics with her aged fingers, she gives the last snips of the scissors and sets the final pins to her life's work.

  • She who had loved so much, now loves only her work.

  • Once upon a time, Mademoiselle Chanel, then over 80 years old, crossed the road on her way to work.

  • She sleeps at the Ritz but lives in her apartment on the Rue Cambon, underneath her ateliers and close to her couturiers.

  • Forewarned of her arrival by the porter at the Ritz, an employee would spray the staircase of the Rue Cambon with her perfume, Chanel No. 5.

  • Once upon a time, death arrived one Sunday, the only day that she never worked.

  • Gabrielle Chanel passes away on January 10th, 1971.

  • She had designed her own tomb.

  • Without stone above me, she said, I would want to leave if I had the wish to go to heaven and dress the angels.

  • Once upon a time, a woman became a legend.

  • André Malraux will declare, of this century in France, three names will remain, De Gaulle, Picasso and Chanel.

  • Once upon a time, the feminine eternal is forever defined by the house of Chanel.

  • Nearly half a century after the death of Mademoiselle, the style of Chanel endures thanks to the genius of Karl Lagerfeld, who never ceases to cultivate, to reinvent and to exalt its legacy.

  • Once upon a time, there was Chanel.

Once upon a time Gabrielle Chanel made a triumphant return, beginning as if from the first day.

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