TO CELEBRATE the centenary year of Chanel N°5, the French Maison has debuted a new luxury publication tracing the evolution of the iconic fragrance, from its packaging and manufacture to the marketing that continues to resonate today.
Chanel No°5 by Pauline Dreyfus. Photograph: Thames & Hudson
Synonymous with elegance and absolute modernity, the scent is the original olfactory brainchild of French fashion designer and businesswoman Gabrielle Chanel, who wanted to give the modern woman “a perfume, but an artificial perfume … not rose or lily of the valley … a perfume that is a composition”.
N°5, one of the first scents to use synthetics, skyrocketed to stardom thanks to its pioneering TV advertising and distinctively pared-back glass bottle that has since become an enduring visual symbol — inspiring a series of works by Andy Warhol decades later.
Chanel No°5 by Pauline Dreyfus. Photograph: Thames & Hudson
Chanel No°5 by Pauline Dreyfus. Photograph: Thames & Hudson
The new book comes in two volumes, one on the early years of Chanel N°5 from 1921 to 1945, the other on the period in which the fragrance went global, from the postwar years to today, and explores the unrivalled influence of the scent through unprecedented access to the Chanel archives.
Pauline Dreyfus, author of Chanel No°5
Complete with 750 illustrations across 426 pages, Chanel N°5 has been written by Pauline Dreyfus, a prize-winning novelist whose works include Ce sont des choses qui arrivent and the biography of author Paul Morand, which won the Prix Goncourt de la biographie 2021.
Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, Head of Chanel Global Creative Resources
Boasting dazzling imagery from leading creatives, from Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton to film directors Ridley Scott and Baz Luhrmann, Chanel N°5 is an unmissable publication with a fascinating insight into the story behind the world’s most famous fragrance.
Discover an intriguing joint interview with Pauline Dreyfus, author of Chanel No°5, and Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, Head of Chanel Global Creative Resources, below:
Pauline Dreyfus: N°5 turned 100 this year. At that age, is one classic or immortal?
Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur: As far as N°5 is concerned, one is first alive. At 100 years old, it has transcended passing trends, triviality, and the timeliness of its creation.
I don’t like the word immortal; it makes me think of something that is fixed, static. The camellia is immortal. Jasmine is immortal. The May rose is immortal. I would say that N°5 is still in the flower of its youth.
P: Looking back, what are your thoughts on the past century?
T: I would say that it proved Paul Valéry right. Do you remember his saying: “A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future?” This is truer than ever in today’s world.
P: You often compare N°5 to a tennis opponent. How would you describe this opponent?
T: He is at once combative, tenacious, and inspiring. At the end of the match, he is always the one who wins. And he has the luxury of doing so without even breaking a sweat.
P: Paul Morand said that the meeting of a subject and its era is what makes a book successful. Would N°5 have had a different fate if it had been created earlier or later than it was?
T: N°5 is a manifesto of its era. Gabrielle Chanel annihilated the 19th century by creating a product that was anything but conventional. It is the most modern and the least narrative fragrance to come out of the pre-war period, which is due in part to the aldehydes.
N°5, a fragrance without a dominant floral note, came into the world at just the right moment, during a time when people reveled in abstraction.
P: That is what Mademoiselle Chanel used to say: “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” And N°5 looked completely different from what other perfumers had created up to this point. But it often happens that, over time, what once was considered modern becomes bourgeois.
T: My role is to stay true to this original mindset, that of 1921.
We have to keep it from becoming antiquated at all costs. The day that people start giving a bottle of N°5 as a gift because they think of it as a safe choice, I will have failed.
P: Is the fact that you have sought out young talent to represent the image of N°5 a way of staying true to the revolutionary, artistic crucible that was its creation?
T: To be sure, young people are free, bold, and idealistic, three qualities that are necessary for the extraordinary artistic rivalry of the twenties to survive. But I think that talent, even more than youth, is what is truly key. When Picasso met Gabrielle Chanel, he was no longer young. And neither was she!
P: By saying over and over again that “true success is destined”, did Mademoiselle Chanel mean that the triumph of N°5 was predetermined?
T: The interesting thing is that there were other Chanel fragrances that launched in the years following the release of N°5, some of which no longer exist. Glamour and Jasmine come to mind, for example. I think that the longevity of N°5 is due to the fact that the House chose to promote it during the post-war years, particularly in the United States.
And the sharp impression that, beyond a legend, it was going to be necessary to shape the myth by looking to those who created modern myths. It also stems from the magic of the name and the great stroke of intuition to have chosen a number rather than a surname.
P: Ultimately, I think that N°5, a champion in its category, “the” fragrance par excellence, is part of France’s heritage. What is France to a foreigner? The Eiffel Tower, Versailles, General de Gaulle, baguettes and croissants… and N°5.
T: Absolutely. N°5 represents a certain idea of France. Tourists love bringing back a bottle of it, even if they can find it in their own countries.
P: Is it a cultural icon in a way?
T: It exists both as an ideal held in people’s imaginations and as a way for women to assert their uniqueness. When it comes down to it, I believe that we should always wear a fragrance for ourselves first.
P: In the end, is the longevity of the fragrance an indication that desire always wins out over necessity?
T: I think that a woman — or a man — without desire is “in danger”. Desire is not insignificant, nor is it futile. Think of Marilyn Monroe, who said she wore a few drops of N°5 to bed. This was a way of eluding the fact that she slept without clothing: what she was telling us was that she slept in the only thing that made her feel reconnected to her desire.
P: This fragrance, which is so famous that there is no need to even mention the brand, is curiously enough a fragrance that no one recognises. It’s quite a paradox, is it not?
T: That is because it is both very distinct and very abstract. It is a mystery, this product. Which is exactly what Gabrielle Chanel wanted it to be: “a woman’s perfume, a scent of woman”. It was a huge bet, and she won it. N°5 has been paradoxical since its creation one hundred years ago; this explains what it conveys about the brand every day.
P: So, it isn’t just about the scent?
T: A fragrance without a scent wouldn’t be a fragrance. So, it is certainly the central element. But the power and value of a fragrance are not tied solely to its scent. The alchemy of N°5 is in its scent, its name, and its bottle. These three elements are what make it an inimitable fragrance. This singularity is also reflected in the woman who wears it. It is not a statement of luxury as some might think, but one of identity, which is unique and non-negotiable. In this aspect as well, it is more modern than ever.
by Joshua Hendren
Discover the new Chanel No°5 book here