Guardians Of Her Universe

IT'S NO SECRET that Gabrielle Coco Chanel was a superstitious woman. Scattered across her very well-preserved apartment at 31 Rue Cambon( in 1918 she acquired the building where the flagship boutique and her home still stand today.) are talismans and artifacts that show her fixation with lions, crystals and wheat.

The lion - her astrological sign Leo - and other animal ornaments such as a frog and Japanese deer gave her a sense of protection, and she also believed in the healing power of crystals. But one of her strongest superstitions revolved around wheat, perhaps because she associated it with her father (who abandoned her and her sisters in an orphanage when she was 12). As a child, she always remembered how he referred to wheat as "my good wheat" - an expression that resonated with her throughout her life.

She was born on August 19, which coincided with the harvest in France. Wheat was an important commodity for trade and regarded as a symbol of prosperity. It was one of Chanel's few happy childhood memories growing up in the French countryside that she wanted to hold on to.