Chanel is the famous high fashion luxury brand of luxury goods, created by the fashion designer Gabrielle Chanel (the art name is Coco Chanel). The fashion house was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century, and in a few years it becomes one of the most celebreted names in the field of fashion. The company is still run by Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Weirtheimer, Coco Pierre Wertheimer's business associate nephews; the current stylist is Karl Lagerfeld, who has been working with the company since 1983.
In 1909 Gabrielle Chanel opened her first store in Paris, in the Balsan apartments, where she sold hats of her invention. The designer became a must of fashion, even during and after the war, as fhe thought about how women should have comfortable and practical clothes for job, in fact after the war Chanel created the knitwear: the skirt matched with a jacket, used also by Jacqueline Kennedy.
Today in Paris, Chanel has many concept stores in all of its product categories: high fashion, watches and jewelery, beauty products and perfumes, but also has corners in the most famous shopping malls around France, such as Le Bon Marchè, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, or even in make-up retailers, such as Sephora.
The historic store is in Rue Chambon, where the designer lived, dividing the building according to its needs: the boutique is on the ground floor, while the first floor room is used to present collections. The mirror staircase, also used as a photographic set of some of its collections, connects the first and second floors of the apartment, while the next floor is Karl Lagerfeld's studio.
The latest collaboration was with actress Kristen Stewart, who sponsored the creation of her new fragrance "Gabrielle", in 2017.