COCO CHANEL

on killing it at work

Never discuss your children. But do talk about them when you’re trying to bond with new clients. Adopt a friendly facial expression when having difficult conversations. But act like a man and be assertive, too. There’s a bewildering array of advice for the career girl trying to get ahead. Happily Coco Chanel is on hand to show us another way.

After a short stint as a singer, Coco caught the eye of a playboy cavalry officer, Etienne Balsan, who introduced her to an Englishman called Boy Capel and they provided the financial backing via a bank loan for her first business selling hats in 1910. When she discovered that, in spite of booming business, Boy hadn’t paid off the debt, she resolved to take charge of the finances herself and by the following year had made enough money to pay off the loan.

Coco’s genius lay in breaking the rules and turning fashion formality on its head. She was a rebel determined to free women from the constraints of corsetry. She used everyday fabrics and transformed them into pure luxury and took notes from men’s tailoring to create her iconic collarless suits. She inspired women to wear their hair short and she reclaimed black from its association with mourning – her little black dress redefined the concept of chic.

Born in the 19th century, she remains ice-queen cool even now in the 21st. She built a business empire in her own name from scratch at a time when being a woman was a massive hindrance. She fought like a tiger to protect and grow her assets; she was brave, totally original, loyal to her friends and happy to call out people she thought were phonies. She took no s*** whatsoever, which is a pretty superb business model. ➤

“COCO BUILT HER EMPIRE AT A TIME WHEN BEING A WOMAN WAS A HINDRANCE”