After training as a seamstress in her youth, the young Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opened her first shop, a millinery, in Paris in 1910. Within a few years she had expanded into women's clothing and gained a reputation amongst Paris's elite for comfort and casual elegance.

Her signature cardigan jacket arrived in 1925 and "little black dress" in 1926, and these, like most of her creations, had staying power. Her first perfume, Chanel No.5 (named after her lucky number), proved similarly timeless. The company maintained her ethos after Coco's death in 1971 aged 87 (at which point she was still designing).

The Chanel eyewear range was launched in 1999 and follows Coco's chief design principle of elegant simplicity. The interlocking CC logo is a prominent feature around the hinge on many models, but never looks brash. Similarly colours, while sometimes bold, are never loud, and Chanel glasses are unlikely to ever look either cutting-edge or dated.

Iris Optical introduced Chanel frames in March 2010, and we expect this range to make a big impact.