Chanel S.A. (; ) is a
French,
privately held company owned by
Alain and
Gerard Wertheimer, grandsons of
Pierre Wertheimer, who was an early business partner of the
couturière Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Chanel S.A. is a
high fashion house that specializes in
haute couture and
ready-to-wear clothes,
luxury goods and fashion accessories. In her youth, Gabrielle Chanel gained the nickname
Coco from her time as a chanteuse. As a fashion designer,
Coco Chanel catered to women’s taste for elegance in dress, with blouses and suits, trousers and dresses, and
jewellry (
gemstone and
bijouterie) of simple design, that replaced the opulent, over-designed, and constrictive clothes and accessories of 19th-century fashion. The Chanel product brands have been personified by fashion models and actresses, including
Inès de la Fressange,
Catherine Deneuve,
Carole Bouquet,
Vanessa Paradis,
Nicole Kidman,
Anna Mouglalis,
Audrey Tautou,
Keira Knightley and
Marilyn Monroe.