a visual collective outlet of inspiration
“…with the help of her lover, the grand duke dmitri pavlovich of russia, the rising couturier coco chanel met french perfumer ernest beaux in the late summer of 1920 and arranged a meeting in cannes where he presented his current and former works. intended as a christmas present for he best clients chanel chose the bottle no. 5 from the adaptation trials on “rallet n°1”. when beaux asked her how she wanted to name that scent, she replied: “i always launch my collection on the 5th day of the 5th months, so the number 5 seems to bring me luck – therefore, i will name it nº 5″initially only 100 flacons of “chanel nº 5” were produced, which she gave away on christmas 1921 for free to her best clients. however, soon the demand for further supply was such that she decided to launch the perfume officially for sale in her shops in 1922.“
the iconic shape of chanel nº 5 is said to be inspired by vodka flasks from russian soldiers surrounding her lover. by pp’
