Coco Before Chanel
“Before she was France's famous mademoiselle…”
Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.
This film offers a graceful, melancholic journey into the formative years of an icon. It feels like a quiet, determined ascent through societal strictures, draped in understated elegance. The mood is one of subtle aspiration and the quiet strength of a woman forging her own path, with a sophisticated, timeless aesthetic.
