The story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to fashion icon is causing buzz worldwide with the recent Paris premiere of the new movie "Coco avant Chanel" (Coco before Chanel) slated for release worldwide this summer.
Starring Audrey Tautou of "Da Vinci Code" fame, the movie is inspring millions of fashionistas - who've already lapped up the movie trailer - to further bone up on more details of the life of the milestone French designer who turned the fashion world on its ear in the early 20th century.
How Chanel made her mark
Thanks to the scrappy little Frenchwoman with the boyish figure, gone were the breath-defying corset and frilly 19th century designs in favor of the now classic boxy look, and more comfortable clothing made of jersey - a material which until then was used exclusively for men's underwear.
A pioneer in women's liberation decades before that term was even coined, Coco endured an early impoverished childhood and strict convent orphanage upbringing. But rather than serving as a major influence on her adult world view, it only inspired a complete rejection of women's servitude and dependence in a man's world.
Chanel into the 21st century
As the moving picture was to photograhs, or Picasso to painting, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel threw old ideas aside for a revolutionary new approach to fashion that still resonates.
Perfectly embodying the modern woman's ideal of financial independence, Chanel rose to become a major influence on women's tastes in fashion throughout the Western world.
Since her passing in 1971, Coco continures to inspire detailed biographies, a Broadway stage musical and, of course, a major influence on other fashion designers - as seen Karl Lagerfeld's classic reinterpretation of the elements of Chanel style in 1993.
In movie parlance, Coco still has "legs" with a fresh new installment of Coco fixation about to hit theaters.
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