Coco: The life and loves of Gabrielle Chanel

This is a biography of "Coco", the famous fashion designer, described by Bernard Shaw as "one of the two most influential women of the twentieth century", which includes photographs and illustrations of her creations. Chanel changed the way women dressed and brought them a new liberation. Her reign lasted six decades and she became a millionairess, but her private life was one of unhappiness and disappointment. Her lover was killed in a car crash and her husband-to-be dropped dead in front of her. When she died, she felt a failure. The author has also written "A History of Perfume", "A History of Fashion", "Collecting Twentieth Century Fashion" and "The Secrets of the Couturiers".