TO HONOUR 100 years of the iconic N°5 fragrance, Chanel has released an energising, new beauty capsule that is undoubtedly one of its most collectable to date.
Certain to please fans of the storied Maison, Chanel Factory 5 consists of 17 limited-edition bath and body products, each housed in playfully subversive packaging inspired by everyday objects; think body oil dispensed from a lab burette, scented shower gel delivered in a paint can and bath tablets stored in a logo-stamped tea tin.
Chanel Factory 5 Collection
Chanel Factory 5 Collection
“There can be as much value in products that we use regularly as in products that we use for very special occasions. It’s all about the experience these products give you,” says Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, Chanel’s Head of Global Creative Resources Fragrance and Beauty, on the story behind the unexpected designs.
“By taking popular consumer items out of their context and dressing them up in the aesthetics of N°5, we return to Chanel’s first creative gesture: that of transforming a functional object into a desirable luxury item. That’s what Chanel Factory 5 is all about: offering the experience of luxury in everyday life.”
Chanel Factory 5 Collection
Chanel Factory 5 Collection
To coincide with the launch, the House has debuted a series of pop-up stores in some of the world’s largest cities, including London’s Selfridges, which will host Chanel Factory 5 in the Corner Shop of their London store over four weeks, from July 5.
Chanel Factory 5 at Selfridges
Chanel Factory 5 at Selfridges
Immersing visitors in the collection with a factory-inspired experience, the store takes consumers on a journey, from conveyor belt to workstations to the factory store, where experts are on hand for product demonstrations.
Chanel Factory 5 at Selfridges
Chanel Factory 5 at Selfridges
Punctuated with colourful pop art-infused product shots – a nod to Andy Warhol’s famous depiction of Chanel N°5 in his Ads Series, 1985 – the pop-up is also available to view digitally for those unable to visit in-store.
Chanel Factory 5 at Selfridges
“As N°5 celebrates its 100th anniversary, Chanel Factory 5 also reminds us that youth is above all a state of mind: daring to take a step to the side, to have the freedom to be oneself in spite of convention, not to take oneself seriously, to be light without being frivolous,” adds du Pré de Saint Maur. “To have the audacity to prefer the youth of imagination to the oldness of habit. That’s what this collection says to us.”
by Joshua Hendren