Intimate Chanel

The most personal account of the life and work of legendary designer Coco Chanel ever published, with contributions from her great-niece and from the archives of her eponymous fashion house. Coco Chanels life and work have been recounted often in print and filmeverything except the details of her most private self: her fondness for symbolism and poetry, the men she loved, her family, and in particular her nephew Andr#xE9; Palasse, whom she raised like a son. His daughter Gabrielle Palasse-LabrunieChanels only direct descendant and goddaughter to both Chanel and the Duke of Westminsterenjoyed a close-knit relationship with the designer for more than forty years. In this biography, she opens her doors and shares personal memories of her great-aunt. This workdivided into five chronological parts, including Chanels dark periodsplunges the reader into the private world of the icon, offering intimate insight. Photographs of Chanels personal effects, many of which have never before been seen or published, include presents from her great love Boy Capel, furniture, favorite jewelry, talismans, clothes, family photographs, rare documents, correspondence, and books with personal inscriptions. The Chanel fashion house offered privileged access to the couturieres iconic pieces in their archives. In Intimate Chanel, Palasse-Labrunie discloses all that was important to her great-aunt and recounts their private conversations, unveiling who her Auntie Coco really was: a very different Chanel from her public persona.

Isabelle Fiemeyer has written biographies on Coco Chanel and Marcel Griaule, as well as a novel in her native French. Francis Hammond’s photographs have been published in Elle Decor and Martha Stewart Living as well as Historic Houses of Paris (2010), Elegant Entertaining (2009), and Mariage Freres French Tea (2003). Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie is Chanel’s great-niece.