Fashion Woman Who Changed it All
ÂIn the 1930s, at the start of World War II, Coco Chanel closed all the fashion shops. She is said to have announced that, in the middle of the entire chaos, fashion should not be a top priority factor. Coco stayed more than 30 years at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. At the time of the Nazi occupation of Paris, Coco Chanel was widely criticized for getting engaged in a steamy affair with Hans Gunther von Dincklage. He was a German officer cum Nazi spy who had secretly arranged for Coco Chanel to stay and remain in the hotel. During the same time, Coco was simultaneously maintaining two more residences, both of which had their locations in France. In the fall season of 1943, Coco tried to end four years of professional partition with Vera Lombardi; she was staying in Rome at that time. Though Vera Lombardi was unaware of it, Coco had other intentions. Her aim was to have contact with Lombardi"s relative, Sir Winston Churchill. At that time, Winston Churchill was a member of the Walter Schellenberg Nazi plan also called as ð€˜Operation Modellhut". Coco Chanel extended an offer to Lombardi so that she could resume her work for the House of Chanel in Paris.
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Lombardi was excited over this offer until she discovered the true intentions behind Coco"s request. Vera Lombardi bluntly repudiated Coco"s request and cited the fashion icon"s guise as a ð€˜cut-throat" one. Vera Lombardi was later captured and branded an English spy. She was locked up in a Roman jail by the Gestapo. Coco Chanel also was arrested for war related crimes for a brief period shortly after Vera Lombardi"s detainment. But, Coco Chanel"s close ties and relationship with the British Royal family ultimately prevented Coco from being taken to court. Later, Coco chose to live an upscale, yet comparatively low-key lifestyle. She stayed in upper Lausanne on the sandy shores of Lake Geneva.
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