This is the long-awaited third edition of Justine Picardie’s acclaimed illustrated biography of Coco Chanel (1883–1971), one of the twentieth century’s most captivating personalities and a defining figure in fashion history. Whoever attempts to understand Chanel’s life is confronted by countless myths, half-truths and rumors. In this book Picardie discovers the woman behind the legend, and tells Chanel’s story with a flair and clarity of which Coco herself would approve. Chanel – Her Life explores every facet of Chanel’s universe: her fascinating private life as well as the famous icons of her fashion empire― the tweed jacket, the little black dress, N° 5 perfume, the pearls, the camellia …

The result is a comprehensive biography that reveals Chanel’s style to be the outcome of rigorous elegance, resolute self-belief and a determinedly unconventional stance. Picardie was granted access to Chanel’s archives and is the first author to have examined previously undiscovered private archives in the United Kingdom and France; and this unique knowledge underpins Chanel – Her Life. The book, designed and with drawings by Karl Lagerfeld, and with a new foreword by Picardie celebrating Lagerfeld’s extraordinary time at the House of Chanel, is the definitive biography of the tantalizingly elusive Coco Chanel.

Legend is the consecration of fame.
Coco Chanel