THE ULTIMATE ICON

Photography by Sohrab Golsorkhi-Ainslie

Hey Google, what turns 100 years old this year? The word “robot”. The Laughing Cow cheese. Betty Crocker… and Chanel Nº5. This year marks 100 years since Gabrielle Chanel’s vision to bottle a fragrance that captured her own (and her customers’) unique spirit was brought to life. The perfume has arguably enjoyed celebrity spotlight equal to that of its biggest film-star endorsers – a symbol of sensuality in the hands of Marilyn Monroe and one of French sophistication in Marion Cotillard’s. Now an icon in its own right, Nº5 is recognised the world over. Developed in the summer of 1920 by the nose Ernest Beaux, Nº5 owes its success to a scent of some 80 carefully chosen ingredients – a blend of aldehydes, it was a revolutionary feat in a time of one-note floral dilutions. While new iterations of the fragrance have helped to propel its enduring popularity, its heady scent even 100 years later remains the embodiment of the free spirit and revolutionary way of dressing women, envisioned by the house’s founder. A centenary is always a cause for celebration, but for Chanel Nº5 it will be one for the ages. ◉