The World According to Coco: The Wit and Wisdom of Coco Chanel

An elegant collection of legendary designer Coco Chanel’s maxims on style, women and life, presented in a fashionable gift format.

French couturière Coco Chanel has achieved legendary status across the world and continues to captivate young generations of fashion fans who eagerly collect and share her quotes, creations and insights.

A close friend of some of the leading wits and writers of her days (from Jean Cocteau to poet Pierre Reverdy), Coco Chanel was fierce and uncompromising in her pronouncements on fashion (‘Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity’; ‘Elegance is refusal’; ‘Fashion changes, but style endures’), women (‘A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future’; ‘Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman’) and life (‘The best things in life are free. The second-best are very expensive’). Much like her successor, Karl Lagerfeld, she never shied away from controversy, declaring one day of her detractors: ‘I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all’. Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Coco is the perfect gift for fans of fashion in general and Chanel in particular.

Patrick Mauriès is a writer and publisher of many notable titles on fashion and design, including Jewelry by Chanel, Cabinets of Curiosities, The World According to Karl and Chanel: The Karl Lagerfeld Campaigns to name a few, all published by Thames & Hudson.

Jean-Christophe Napias is an author, translator and editor of books on dandies, dance music and camp culture. His recent publications include Fashion Quotes, The World According to Karl and Choupette: The Private Life of a High-Flying Fashion Cat, all published by Thames & Hudson.