Coco Chanel, No. 5 & History’s Scent

The wild history of Chanel No. 5, queen of perfumes, and the life of Coco Chanel – from convents to Nazis to jasmine and rose petals.

                                                                                 

We see style as a signifier of a moment in time, a cultural era.  Same for artworks, for cuisine and changing tastes, for the music that reaches our ears.  What about scent?
For a big chunk of the last century, the single most celebrated creation in the scent world has come in a bottle labeled Chanel No. 5.
As a cultural artifact, it’s loaded.  With jasmine, rose petal, musk.  With Madison Avenue and Marilyn Monroe.  With orphanage, czarina, convent laundry, Moulin Rouge, Nazis, and American GIs coming home from war.

The story of Coco Chanel and Chanel No. 5.