• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.611-621
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• 2009

As fashion is a visual symbol that reflects age and culture, cosmetics and beauty are other products of fashion that move the time. A dominant designer of 20th century Chanel does not merely stand for a design innovation of fashion industry that created a vogue. With liberation from corsets that cruelly exaggerated and suppressed female body, meaning of style in modern fashion could be found not only in clothing but also in make-up and hair style. Simplest possible comfort was aimed for, and philosophical concepts of minimalism, modernism and dandyism were incorporated with clothing, cosmetics, perfume, make-up and hair style to establish aesthetical concept of total fashion. Chanel thought of cosmetics as an accessory with essential role and although her philosophy on cosmetics and beauty is not as well known as her clothing style, the authors believe that understanding such philosophy will become an important stepping stone for accurately understanding Chanel style. The purpose of this study is to firstly illuminate the idea that cosmetic beauty can be studied with artistic and philosophical background in addition to its functional side and to secondly investigate the reason why Chanel style is being loved by women with such durability over time and space and with what tempo fashion is connected with cosmetic beauty culture and develops. Third, by studying the ways in which characteristics of Chanel's fashion philosophy are expressed in cosmetics and beauty culture, this study aims to accurately understand Chanel's philosophy on cosmetics and beauty. The meaning of this study can be found by showing the evidence that globalization of Korean fashion beauty culture can be achieved only when cosmetics and beauty culture moves with an intimate connection to clothing culture.