The CC Logo Isn't Chanel's
When luxury houses sue over logo infringement, what exactly are they protecting? The symbol itself – or the story they've built around it?
Chanel's interlocking Cs might be fashion's most recognizable monogram. It's also one of the least original.
The Competing Origin Stories
The official lore begins at Aubazine Abbey, where Chanel lived from age 12 after being abandoned by her father. The nuns taught her to sew. The monastery's grisaille windows – painted in black line on colorless glass, a constraint imposed when the Cistercian Order banned colored glass in 1134 – feature geometric patterns that supposedly inspired the logo.
It's a good story: divine inspiration, humble beginnings, creative genius emerging from austerity. Chanel herself, who was ashamed of her orphanage years for most of her life, never told it. The house didn't lean into the Aubazine connection until the Spring 2020 Couture collection.
Image from the teaser to Chanel's Spring 2020 Haute Couture presentation; a window at Aubazine Abbey; a sister at the abbey; a model from the couture presentation