Chanel No.5 was the
first perfume launched by Coco Chanel. The formula for the fragrance was
compounded by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. It’s a
floral-aldehydic feminine fine fragrance. It was released 5 May, 1921, to
select clientele in Chanel rue Cambon boutique.
It is traditionally
that fragrance worn by women had adhered to two basic categories: respectable
women favored the pure essence of a single garden flower, and sexually
provocative perfumes heavy with animal musk or jasmine. Chanel felt the time
was right for the debut of a scent that would epitomize the flapper and would
speak to the liberated spirit of the 1920s.
Meaning of No.5
Chanel was handed over
to the care of nuns, at the age of twelve, and for the next six years spent a
stark disciplined existence in a convent orphanage, Aubazine, founded by
Cistercians in the twelfth century. From her earliest days there, the number
five had potent associations for her. In 1920, when presented with small glass
vials containing sample scent compositions numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her
assessment, she chose the fifth vial.
Chanel: ” I present my
dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we
will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will being
good luck.”
The Bottle
For the bottle Chanel
envisioned a design that would be an antidote for the over-elaborate, precious
fussiness of the crystal fragrance bottles then in fashion popularized by
Lalique and Baccarat. Her bottle would be “pure transparency… an invisible bottle”.
The bottle design was inspired by the rectangular beveled lines of the Charvet
toiletry bottles. The first bottle produced in 1919, differed from the Chanel
No.5 bottle today. The original container had small, delicate rounded shoulders
and was sold only in Chanel boutiques to
select clients.
1920s/1930s
The official launch
place and date of Chanel No.5 was in her rue Cambon boutique in the fifth month
of the year, on the fifth day of the month: 5 May 1921.
1940s
In the eraly 1940s,
“Parfums Chanel” took a contrary track and actually decreased advertising. In
1939 and 1940, ads had been significant.
1950s
The glamour of Chanel
No.5, in the 1950s, was reignited by the celebrity of Marylin Monroe. In a 1954
interview, when asked what she wore to bed, the movie star provocatively
responded: “five drops of Chanel No.5“.
1960s
The glossy magazines,
the high-fashion bibles such as Vogue and Bazaar, presented Chanel No.5 as the
required accessory to every woman’s femininity.
1970s and 1980s
For the first time in
its long history it ran the risk of being labeled as mass market and passe. The
fragrance was removed from drug stores and similar outlets. Outside advertising
agencies were dropped. The remaking was re-imagined by Jacques Helleu, the
artistic director for “Parfums Chanel”. He chose french actress Catherine
Deneuve for the new face of Chanel. Television commercials were inventive
mini-films with production values of surreal fantasy and seduction.
1990s
Carole Bouquet was the
face of Chanel No.5 during this decade.
2000 to today
Nicole Kidman in 2003
was enlisted to represent the fragrance. In 2012 Brad Pitt was the first male
who advertise Chanel No.5 in the history of the fragrance. In 2014 , Luhrmann
collaborated with Chanel, creating a second “mini-film”, advertising campaign
for No.5, this time with Gisele Bundchen and Michiel Huisman.
Coco Mademoiselle,
perfume from the Chanel collection, was introduced in 2001 for the younger
Chanel fans. The perfume was created by Jacques Polge, the nose of Chanel since
1978. Chanel in 2007 launched a new advertising
film starring current spokesmodel Keira Knightley as Coco Chanel. The
film was directed by Joe Wright. Joss Stone (soul singer) re-recorded Nat King
Cole’s 1965 “L-O-V-E” for the short film.
Coco Mademoiselle
* * *
No comments:
Post a Comment