Created by perfumer Ernest Beaux in 1921, Chanel No.5 is easily the world’s most iconic fragrance – and it turns 100 years old next year.
The sweet, woody, musky fragrance with an almost soapy hint – in Gabrielle Chanel’s own words, “a women’s fragrance that smells like women” – is as breathtaking as it was revolutionary for its time. It’s unsurprising, considering Chanel was never one to play by the rules.
At a time where fragrances were either created using singular floral notes for the well- heeled of society or animal musk for the more provocative set, Chanel No.5 was daring and bold. It combined multiple notes, using jasmine, rose and sandalwood, along with aldehyde – an artificially created note, which was unheard of in the world of perfumery back then.
Chanel No.5 became Gabrielle Chanel’s signature – sprayed by an assistant at the entrance of the Rue Cambon building where the House’s original boutique still stands, as well as scattered on the glowing embers of her fireplace to scent her home.
To celebrate the fragrance’s 100th anniversary in 2021, the house of Chanel has launched a new campaign with Academy Award winning actress Marion Cotillard as its face. The French actress joins the ranks of Ali MacGraw, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou, Brad Pitt and Gisele Bundchen, all of whom have previously embodied the fragrance.
Her first English-language role was in the 1993 television series, Highlander and she made her film debut a year later in The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to be Kissed.
Her breakthrough role, however, was in Luc Besson’s Taxi in 1998. You’ll also have seen her in Big Fish, A Good Year, Midnight in Paris, but most famously, as Edith Piaf in the 2007 biopic La Vie en Rose. That role earned her her maiden Oscar for Best Actress.
Cotillard says: “I felt an instant connection with No.5. Its composition is full of mystery. No. 5 is now considered a classic, but it has retained its originality. That is what [it] means to be an icon, the ability to stand the test of time.
“What particularly touches me is that No.5 was the first perfume created by a female couturier. In my eyes, its creation tells the fate of an avant-garde woman who was ahead of her time. I would say that No.5 holds the idea of feminine essence. Combined with the major challenge of pleasing yourself before anyone else.
“A fragrance reveals something about the identity of the person who wears it. Chanel No.5 is a fragrance whose composition is so particular, so subtle, that it becomes different and unique on every woman.”
The campaign film was released worldwide on October 29, 2020. Here are some things to know about the reel.
1. The star: Cotillard, of course.
2. The director: The 60-second film was directed by Swedish director Johan Renck (Chernobyl), and is an ode to a strong woman in love, whose seductiveness transforms into joy. The story is meant to reflect the spirit and power of Chanel No.5.
3. The inspiration: The moon – because there is no more fitting place for Chanel No.5 to conquer than the next frontier, space. “I felt interested in expanding the dream and exploring new territories; thus leaving Earth,” says Renck.
4. What you shouldn’t miss: The dance of the two lovers – Cotillard and Opera de Paris ballet dancer Jeremie Belingard. Known for his award-winning choreography for singer Sia’s Chandelier music video, dancer and choreographer Ryan Heffington was tapped to dream up the dance.
Says Heffington: “Not only were we telling a story of intrigue and romance, I wanted to also depict the relationship as fun and childlike in moments between them.” The dance has the lovers spinning around in a modern sarabande (a slow stately dance from the Baroque period).
The dazzling gold embroidered lace dress Cotillard wears when she’s dancing on the moon shimmers in hues of the No.5 fragrance. It was chosen by Chanel’s creative director, Virginie Viard, and inspired by an iconic dress worn by Gabrielle Chanel herself. Look out for it!