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[Image downloaded from Wikipedia]
There are two movies currently out on Coco Chanel: Coco before Chanel, now on DVD, and Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. I don't know what the occasion is that Chanel merit such attention. I think it is simply that women are getting more feminine, and that old styles and tastes reflect those qualities better. And her Chanel No. 5 is the eternal feminine scent.
Still, Chanel was a curious woman. In later life, she was a Nazi collaborator, and was embroiled in an affair with a Nazi officer. She was also purported to have had an affair with Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Whenever I read about such autobiographical details, it gets hard for me to appreciate the talents and contributions of these individuals.
The 1920s were the peak of Chanel's creativity. It was in that period that she launched her signature perfume Chanel No. 5. During that era, film making, photography, music, theater and dance were all meshed together forming a kaleidoscope of art. The more "applied arts" like design and fashion were also taken seriously, and were included in the artistic activities. Perhaps one can excuse such visionaries as Chanel for her (great) indiscretions - including her affair with the married Stravinsky while under the same roof as his wife and children - and just blame it on the bohemian times.
