I’m reading Coco Chanel: an Intimate Life, which is a historian’s view of Chanel’s somewhat murky origins, based on primary sources.

Chanel had a habit of obscuring her early (dirt-poor) life; she was a canny marketer, and understood that her wealthy customers would be more willing to buy her daringly simple clothing if the clothes were associated with her own rather glamorous and arty lifestyle. This was revolutionary at the time. Designers were generally seen as servants, certainly not as people who dictated how the upper classes should live.

The book describes the earliest instance I’ve seen of giving product away to gain market share:

…She was quite willing for her clothes to be copied…In 1932 Gabrielle presented a fashion exhibition at the Duke of Westminster’s London house in aid of charity. The idea was that dressmakers and manufacturers should come along with the express intention of copying Gabrielle’s designs. Five hundred or so society and entertainment personalities attended over the course of several days. The Daily Mail reported how “many visitors bring their own seamstresses because this collection is not for sale…Mademoiselle Chanel has authorized it being copied.” The other designers in Paris went to great lengths to protect their designs and were absolutely opposed to Gabrielle’s initiative.

I was shocked to read today that Alexander McQueen had taken his own life. He’s a designer whose career I’ve followed closely; his work was inspired by London nightlife and the style of the demimonde, and executed to the highest level possible (a very compelling combination). The clothes he made were a bizarre and fabulous dream.

He was very influential, beyond creative, and a true original. His absence will make the design world much less interesting.

Addendum: Women’s Wear Daily has a very thoughtful piece on McQueen’s career.

Image from McQueen’s spring/summer 2010 collection, from Style.com