The same year, Chanel boutiques offering only selections of accessories were opened in the United States.

Sartorially, some of Chanel's designs derived from the military uniforms made prevalent by the War; and, by 1915, the designs and the clothes produced by the House of Chanel were known throughout France. Unlike other fashion brands, Chanel has continued to do business in Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At that time, the trademarks were registered only for the perfume, toiletry, and cosmetic products in the primary class of common metals and their alloys.Is it a coincidence that the patterns in those windows – the very prisms of their dreams – –were overlapping circles made up of interlocking Cs? Pierre Wertheimer bought Bader's 20 per cent share of the Parfums Chanel, which increased the Wertheimer percentage to 90 per cent. It was at the Hotel Ritz where she fell in love with Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, working in the German embassy close to the Gestapo. Originally inspired by the opulent jewels and pearls given to her by aristocratic lovers, Chanel raided her own jewel vault and partnered with Duke Fulco di Verdura to launch a House of Chanel jewelry line.

However, the American and British press saw it as a "breakthrough", bringing together fashion and youth in a new way. Chanel marketer Jean Hoehn explained the firm's approach, saying, "We introduce a new fragrance every 10 years, not every three minutes like many competitors. In addition to the headscarf, Chanel clothing from this period featured square-neck, long belted blouses alluding to Russian muzhiks (peasant) attire known as the roubachka. Since its inception, the House has partnered with the National Portrait Gallery (London), The Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Power Station (Shanghai). Chanel was a documented member of the ERIC network, an arm of the Forces Françaises Combattantes (FFC).

After one year of operation, the business proved to be so lucrative that in 1916 Chanel was able to reimburse Capel's original investment. That same year, Chanel launched a travel collection, and under a license contract with Luxottica, introduced a line of sunglasses and eyeglass frames. In 1912–1913, the actress Suzanne Orlandi was one of the first women to wear a Chanel little black dress, in velvet with a white collar.

Chanel went on to design the costumes for several French films, including Jean Renoir's 1939 film La Règle du jeu, in which she was credited as La Maison Chanel. xix At the end of the war, Schellenberg was tried by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal, and sentenced to six years' imprisonment for war crimes. Five rooms from La Pausa have been replicated at the Dallas Museum of Art, to house the Reves' art collection as well as pieces of furniture belonging to Chanel. Her funeral was held at the Église de la Madeleine; her fashion models occupied the first seats during the ceremony and her coffin was covered with white flowers—camellias, gardenias, orchids, azaleas and a few red roses. Chanel designed the clothing worn on screen by Gloria Swanson, in Tonight or Never (1931), and for Ina Claire in The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932).Soon, damaging documents from French intelligence agencies were released that outlined Chanel's wartime involvements, quickly ending her monumental funeral plans.

Also, as I learned that Antoinette played an important role in the founding of the Chanel empire, I wanted her to finally have a voice to tell her story as well as Coco’s. Her grounds for proprietary ownership were based on the claim that Parfums Chanel "is still the property of Jews" and had been legally "abandoned" by the owners. This was greatly appreciated at the time because women were working for the war effort as nurses, civil servants, and in factories. From her excursions on water with the yachting world, she appropriated the clothing associated with nautical pursuits: the horizontal striped shirt, bell-bottom pants, crewneck sweaters, and espadrille shoes—all traditionally worn by sailors and fishermen. To that end, the businessman Théophile Bader (founder of Galeries Lafayette) introduced the venture capitalist Pierre Wertheimer to Coco Chanel.The simple-line, 'flat-chested' fashions Chanel couture made popular were opposite of the hourglass figure fashions of the late 19th century – the Belle Époque of France ( c. Fondation Chanel has partnered with organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2023, a membership card belonging to Chanel was discovered in the French national archives by Chanel biographer Justine Picardie. Her extraordinary fashion sense was not just limited to couture clothing but also reflected in fragrance, handbags and jewellery.