Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building on 31 Cambon Street, built in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, has since 1918 been home to the sewing house founded by Gabrielle Chanel, known as Coco Chanel. This place becomes the heart of its empire, with an unchanged functional distribution: shop on the ground floor, sewing salons on the 1st floor, its private apartment on the 2nd, and workshops on the upper floors. The interior arrangements, such as the staircase with mirrors or the Coromandel screen, illustrate its taste for baroque and its scenographic genius, used in particular to highlight its parades. The apartment, classified as Historic Monument in 2013, retains its original décor, testifying to its aesthetic universe mixing opulence and minimalism.

Coco Chanel (1883–71) moved to this apartment after revolutionizing women's fashion in the 1910s, releasing women from corsets and popularizing androgynous silhouettes, such as the tweed tailor or the little black dress. This place becomes a salon where artists, aristocrats and intellectuals meet, such as Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau, or Picasso, reflecting his cultural influence. During the German occupation (1940–1944), she lived there with her lover, Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, officer of the Abwehr, while maintaining her activity in perfumes, despite controversies related to her collaboration.

The apartment, located above the workshops, is an intimate and professional space. Chanel receives her clients and works there on a nursing chair, surrounded by crystal chandeliers, golden hangings and precious tumblers. The mirrors of the staircase, inspired by the stained glass windows of Aubazine (an orphanage where she would have stayed according to a disputed legend), create reflections to observe the reactions of the public during the parades. After his death in 1971, the apartment remains preserved, accessible only to privileged clients or journalists, perpetuating his legacy.

The period 1918–71 marked Chanel's climax, with iconic creations such as bag 2.55 or perfume No.5 developed in this building. The Wertheimer brothers, associated in perfumes, played a key role in its commercial success, despite its attempts to plunder them during the war. After 1954, his triumphal return with the tailor in tweed revived the house, making the 31 rue Cambon a lasting symbol of French elegance, still today the seat of the Chanel brand.

The history of the place is also marked by polemics, including its behaviour during the occupation: Chanel collaborates with the Nazis, tries to recover Chanel perfumes through anti-Semitic laws, and participates in spying missions under the code name Westminster. These facts, revealed by declassified archives, contrast with her image as a liberator of women. Despite this, her apartment remains a place of memory, where every detail (from screens to mirrors) evokes her creative genius and contradictions.

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