Coco Chanel

Let’s pause here on Place Gabrielle-Chanel. It was in Deauville that everything began for the designer, long before Paris or worldwide fame. In 1913, Gabrielle Chanel, already nicknamed “Coco”, opened her very first boutique under her full name.

The shop stood at 11 Avenue Lucien-Barrière, just behind the Normandy Hotel. There she sold her hats and introduced a style that was nothing short of revolutionary: clothing that was simple, elegant, and inspired by the sporty, seaside look. Her creations broke away from corsets and heavy gowns, and immediately struck a chord with the fashionable holiday crowd. It was also here that she had a brilliant intuition.

Watching local fishermen in their blue-and-white striped sweaters, she transformed that practical workwear into the marinière—suddenly a symbol of French elegance, perfect for a stroll along the shore.

None of this would have been possible without the financial backing of her great love, the British businessman Boy Capel. Today, the story is marked in stone: a commemorative plaque designed by Karl Lagerfeld now recalls the address of that very first boutique.

Deauville can proudly claim to have witnessed the birth of a legend: the Chanel label, which still embodies an enduring, timeless style first imagined right here on the Normandy coast.