A comprehensive timeline documenting the life of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971), the French fashion designer who revolutionized women's fashion by liberating them from the corseted silhouette and creating elegant, comfortable clothing that epitomized modern femininity, transforming from an impoverished orphan into one of the most influential figures in fashion history while her innovations including the little black dress, Chanel suit, and Chanel No. 5 perfume became timeless icons, though her legacy remains complex due to her controversial wartime associations, making her both a pioneer of women's liberation through fashion and one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century.