“The main thing is the content, not the packaging” – this is exactly the principle that Coco Chanel adhered to when creating the legendary fragrance.
Coco’s goal was to create “an artificial feminine scent that smells like a Woman.” In 1921, she turned to the famous perfumer Ernest Bo, the former Tsarist perfumer of the Romanov family, for help. The 1917 revolution forced Beau to flee abroad, and here he became famous for becoming the first perfumer to experiment with artificial fragrances. Creating them, he worked with aldehydes, adding natural notes to perfume.
While most ladies smelled of the same lily of the valley and rose fragrances (which, incidentally, did not differ in their persistence), Coco brought to the market an exceptionally new revolutionary fragrance, which included more than 80 ingredients. Before launching the perfume on sale, the designer made a very subtle and competent move: she presented the first bottles of perfume to her friends – secular lionesses who moved in the most sophisticated circles. In a matter of days, everyone started talking about Chanel No. 5! Wealthy ladies were ready for anything to become the owner of a bottle of the cherished perfume (it was sold at first, by the way, only in Coco’s personal store), men lined up in long queues, were ready to pay any money for a gift to their beloved women.
The number 5 in the name appeared for a reason: Ernest Bo offered Coco ten fragrances to choose from, and the designer chose the fifth one. In addition, the meaning of the number 5 was personal for Chanel: she considered him a lucky number.
The perfume market was represented by perfume bottles of complex and varied forms, sometimes bordering on vulgarity. Without thinking about the content and quality of perfumes, the designers tried to make the packaging expensive in appearance: complex ornaments, volumetric lids, fanciful engravings, precious stones and gold plating created a kind of luxury. Working on the design of the bottles, Coco decided to go from the opposite, preferring pretentiousness to simplicity of design.
Despite the persuasion of the manufacturers working on the perfume bottles, Chanel chose a simple, parallelepiped-shaped bottle. The label was also laconic and was made in black and white: a white square with a black inscription Chanel No. 5. And nothing more!
For almost 100 years of existence, the perfume formula and crystal bottle have remained unchanged! Only once were attempts made to somewhat round the shape of the cap and highlight the edges of the bottle, but Coco quickly thwarted all innovations!
Initially, the face of the fragrance was Coco Chanel herself. And soon the honor of presenting an exquisite perfume passed to other famous women of our time. So, Marilyn Monroe unwittingly became the author of the legendary phrase, which quickly turned into an advertising slogan. When one of the journalists asked the incorrect question of what she was wearing when she went to bed, smiling flirtatiously, Monroe said: “Just a few drops of Chanel No. 5.” After the recognition of the famous blonde, several million bottles of perfume were sold out in a few days!
The personality of Mademoiselle Chanel has been canonized in many films, one of the latest being “Coco do Chanel” by Anne Fontaine with Audrey Tautou in the title role. She played rather a love line, revealing the image of a woman named Gabrielle, who was hiding behind the pseudonym Coco.
Also, the faces of the fragrance were Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Estella Warren, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou. And in 2012, Brad Pitt became the first man in the history of Chanel No. 5 to present a fragrance!
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford have confessed their love for Chanel No. 5. Jacqueline Kennedy has never parted with a crystal perfume bottle!
The simplicity and brevity of perfumes inspire many designers to create unusual fashionable items. So, for example, in 2013 exquisite handbags and clutches appeared, made in the form of a legendary bottle. The first to enter the market for unusual handbags was, of course, the Chanel house under the leadership of Karl Lagerfeld. The luxurious accessory Chanel No. 5 Perfume Bottle Clutch quickly conquered the hearts of modern fashionistas. With such handbags, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Olympia Palermo, Beyonce and Alexa Chung appeared in public. Lanvin and Charlotte Olympia joined Chanel a bit later.
Charlotte Olympia has somewhat diversified its lineup: the brand offers handbags in vintage style, pastel colors and is not limited to square and rectangular shapes, but also offers a round version.
Miroslava Duma with a branded Chanel clutch No. 5
Thus, the perfume bottle was transformed – its utilitarian meaning is no longer the main thing. He became a symbol of femininity, involvement in something dear and inaccessible, something that is “not for everyone.” Skillful marketing, beautiful advertising campaigns and the image of Coco Chanel built a stunning image around the household item, and girls still consider it one of the markers of luxury, despite the wealth of the perfume market.