Chanel did not force the corseted silhouette to make room for ease; she pioneered jersey daywear for women in the 1910s, turning a humble fabric into liberation. Later, after closing her house in 1939, she staged a controversial comeback in 1954 and won anew by doubling down on modern simplicity rather than reviving prewar formulas. Her trajectory demonstrates that progress often comes from reconfiguring constraints into advantages—choosing a different material, silhouette, or moment—rather than insisting the old gatekeepers change. In effect, she stopped pounding and started designing new doors, then invited the world through them. [...]
