Aging and the Terror of Irrelevance

As Chanel aged, her personal relationships became increasingly fraught with the terror of irrelevance. The woman who had defined modern beauty struggled with her own aging in ways that revealed deep insecurities. She maintained the same hairstyle, the same makeup, the same silhouette for decades, as if stopping time through sheer will.

Her romantic relationships in later life took on a different character. Younger men were attracted to her fame and wealth; she was attracted to their youth and admiration. These relationships were more clearly transactional, lacking the genuine connection that had characterized her early loves. She seemed to recognize this but preferred the simulacrum to solitude.

The fear of being forgotten drove her to increasingly extreme positions. Her pronouncements became more dogmatic, her criticism of younger designers more harsh. She railed against the New Look, miniskirts, and any fashion development that departed from her aesthetic. This rigidity, so different from the revolutionary spirit of her youth, revealed someone clinging to relevance through opposition.