thumb|Chanel No. 5 fragrance

Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by French couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1921. The scent formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. The design of its bottle has been an important part of the product's branding. Coco Chanel was the first face of the fragrance, appearing in the advertisement published by Harper's Bazaar in 1937. Chanel sought a new scent that would appeal to the flapper and celebrate the seemingly liberated feminine spirit of the 1920s.

The No. 5 name

At the age of twelve, Chanel was handed over to the care of nuns, and for the next six years spent a stark, disciplined existence in a convent orphanage, Aubazine, founded by 12th-century Cistercians in the Corrèze department of south-west France. From her earliest days there, the number five had potent associations for her. For Chanel, the number five was especially esteemed as signifying the pure embodiment of a thing, its spirit, its mystic meaning. The paths that led Chanel to the cathedral for daily prayers were laid out in circular patterns repeating the number five. Some say it was the whiskey decanter he used that she admired and wished to reproduce in "exquisite, expensive, delicate glass".

Unlike the bottle, which has remained the same since the 1924 redesign, the stopper has gone through numerous modifications. The original stopper was a small glass plug. The octagonal stopper, which became a brand signature, was created in 1924, when the bottle shape was changed. The 1950s gave the stopper a bevel cut and a larger, thicker silhouette. In the 1970s the stopper became even more prominent but, in 1986, it was re-proportioned so its size was more harmonious with the scale of the bottle.

Battle for control of Parfums Chanel

In 1924, Chanel agreed with the Wertheimer brothers Pierre and Paul, directors of the perfume house Bourjois, creating a new corporate entity, Parfums Chanel. The Wertheimers agreed to manage the production, marketing, and distribution of Chanel No. 5. The Wertheimers would receive a 70 percent share of the company, and Rheophile Bader, founder of the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, would receive 20 percent. Bader had been instrumental in brokering the business connection by introducing Chanel to Pierre Wertheimer at the Longchamps races in 1922. For 10 percent of the stock, Chanel licensed her name to Parfums Chanel. She removed herself from involvement in all business operations.

1970s and 1980s

thumb|upright|Chanel N°5 perfume

In the 1970s, the brand needed revitalization. For the first time it ran the risk of being labeled as "mass market" and passé. The fragrance was removed from drug stores and similar outlets. Outside advertising agencies were dropped. The rebranding was managed by Jacques Helleu, the artistic director for Parfums Chanel. Helleu chose French actress Catherine Deneuve as the new face of Chanel. Print ads showcased the iconic sculpture of the bottle. Television commercials were inventive mini-films with production values of surreal fantasy and seduction. Directed by Ridley Scott in the 1970s and 1980s, they "played on the same visual imagery, with the same silhouette of the bottle." Carole Bouquet was the face of Chanel No. 5 during this decade. In the UK, this product was the first ever commercial aired on the newly launched Channel 5 network. In 1998, Estella Warren became the new spokesmodel for Chanel and shot two commercials with French director Luc Besson the latter which aired in 2001.

Since 2000

In 2003, actress Nicole Kidman was enlisted to represent the fragrance. Film director Baz Luhrmann, brought in to conceive and direct a new advertising campaign featuring her, described his concept for what he titled No. 5 the Film as "a two-minute trailer ... for a film that has actually never been made, not about Chanel No. 5 but Chanel No. 5 is the touchstone".

In May 2012, the company announced that Brad Pitt would be the first male to advertise Chanel No. 5.

In 2013 Chanel ran an advertising campaign using a recorded interview with Marilyn Monroe in which she is asked about her use of Chanel No. 5. It featured Ed Feingersh's photograph of the actress splashing herself with a bottle of the perfume.

In October 2014, Luhrmann again collaborated with Chanel, creating a second advertising campaign for No. 5, this time starring Gisele Bündchen and Michiel Huisman. Throughout the film, singer Lo-Fang performs his rendition of You're the One That I Want.

On 17 February 2020, French actress Marion Cotillard was announced as the new face of Chanel No. 5. Her first commercial for the fragrance was released on 29 October 2020. It was directed by Johan Renck and featured Cotillard dancing in the moon with French ballet dancer Jérémie Bélingard while singing a cover of Lorde's "Team".

In 2024, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi starred in Chanel No. 5's new advertising film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, titled "See You at 5." Robbie plays the producer and titular star of Barbie. She tells Vogue that she thinks the woman who wears Chanel No. 5 is "powerful" and has "desires".

Flankers

Over decades, Chanel has released multiple expressions and flankers of No. 5, including Eau de Toilette, Parfum, and limited editions. Despite variations in concentration and presentation, the core aldehydic floral character has been preserved. Major commercially recognized flankers derived from the original composition include: Chanel No. 5 Eau de Toilette, Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere, Chanel No. 5 L’Eau'.

The scent

Provenance of the recipe

thumb|upright|Le nez de Chanel: The perfumer [[Ernest Beaux (1881–1961)]]

Coco Chanel had wanted to develop a distinctly modern fragrance for some time prior to early-1920. At this time, Chanel's lover was Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov of Russia, the murderer of Rasputin. The duke introduced her to Ernest Beaux on the French Riviera. Beaux was the master perfumer at A. Rallet and Company, where he had been employed since 1898. The company was the official perfumer to the Russian imperial family, and "the imperial palace at St. Petersburg was a famously perfumed court."

Celebrity ambassadors

  • Coco Chanel (1937)
  • Suzy Parker (1957)
  • Ali MacGraw (1966)
  • Jean Shrimpton (1971)
  • Catherine Deneuve (1969–1979)
  • Carole Bouquet (1986–1997)
  • Estella Warren (1998–2004)
  • Nicole Kidman (2004–2005)
  • Loredana Školaris (2005–2006)
  • Audrey Tautou (2009)
  • Brad Pitt (2012)
  • Gisele Bündchen (2014)
  • Lily-Rose Depp (2016–2019)
  • Marion Cotillard (2020–2024)

References

  • "Discover Grasse, the flower-filled French town behind the world's most famous perfume", from 60 Minutes, May 3, 2026