Chanel The French designer
Coco Chanel launched her first post-war collection at her rue Cambon showroom in Paris on 5 February 1954. For the show she approached
Marie-Hélène de Rothschild to ask her friends whether they would appear on the catwalk; Chanel had decided to use "personalities", women "with bosoms and hips – with a real shape – they must have elegance", rather than the sylphlike and anonymous models she had employed pre-war whose function was to bring attention to the clothes rather than themselves, following her precept that just as a watch tells the time, a model should "tell the dress". This troupe of " personality" models included Marie-Eugênia "Mimi" Ouro Preto, later wife of the novelist Count
Guy d'Arcangues; Claude de Leusse, later a journalist and novelist; Princess
Odile de Cröy, who would subsequently become social secretary to French President
Georges Pompidou;
Bettina Ballard, the influential editor of American
Vogue, remained loyal to Chanel, however, and featured Arnaud in the March 1954 issue, Ballard had bought the suit herself, which gave "an overwhelming impression of insouciant, youthful elegance", and orders for the clothes that Arnaud had modelled soon started pouring in from the States. Chanel became very close to
les blousons Chanel, none more so than to the "incomparable" Arnaud, who was "almost like her shadow", her "fetish model", her "alter ego ... whom she almost considered her equal", Chanel said, referring to Arnaud's early work as a cover girl and the shabby way in which she had been treated by magazines: It troubled Chanel that Arnaud had to return to her parents' house in Neuilly after a day's work and that she ate alone at a restaurant, so she offered the model a room in a hotel on rue Cambon, as well as meals with her alone or when she was entertaining friends. and Arnaud not only constantly pestered Chanel for her old, worn suits, but also mimicked many of Chanel's mannerisms both in everyday life, such as how she held her cigarette and folded her scarf, and on the catwalk and on photoshoots, including the trademark Chanel stance with one foot in front of the other, stomach resolutely vertical and flat, head held imperiously high with chin up, and one hand thrust into a skirt pocket. Nearly forty years later
Karl Lagerfeld, who was appointed as artistic director of the fashion house in 1983, would instruct supermodel
Linda Evangelista to copy the "legendary" Arnaud's poses when modelling during the 1992 Chanel spring collection at rue Cambon. Rumours soon arose that Chanel and Arnaud were lovers; according to Sam Spiegel's biographer, Spiegel loved telling people that she was Coco Chanel's girl because being a lesbian made her a virgin in his eyes. Arnaud announced in 1960 that she no longer wished to work for Chanel, having tired of the life of a model. Chanel was mortified – Haedrich states that "she could not do without Marie-Hélène" This
contretemps occurred at a time when Chanel was almost 80 and speculation as to who would succeed her was rife, with many people thinking that Chanel had selected Arnaud to take over from her. Chanel's throne: Arnaud did leave, as did her father, who stated "My daughter is capable of doing better things than she is doing."
Other houses Although by 1958 Arnaud had become the public face of Chanel, she also worked for other fashion houses, including
Balenciaga,
Pierre Cardin,
André Courrèges,
Jean Dessès,
Dior and
Hermès. Her closest association was with the recently launched house of
Guy Laroche, for whom she appeared on the cover of
Life magazine in a gold dress with white polka dots on 1 April 1957. The accompanying text, in which she was described as the "most popular and versatile model in Paris", stated: Laroche's first collection was designed "entirely with Arnaud in mind", and although she was not paid for her work, she could keep the clothes. ==Subsequent work==