CHANEL NO. 5 - NUMBER 1 IN DESIGN The Bottle That Contained Coco's Essence

Coco Chanel was not the first couturier to incorporate fragrance into her design house, but was the first to link perfume to fashion in the manner that she did: as a vital accessory to a look.

In turn, her most famous perfume (Chanel no.5) became as iconic as her sleek, elegant collections, a piece of art and fashion within its own right.

Coco was once quoted as saying “A woman must smell like a woman, and not like a rose.” She told her perfumer she wanted a scent that reflected her personality: something “abstract and unique". She stayed away from the froufrou flowery scents and bottle designs that were popular at the time, choosing instead to use a simple, geometric bottle shape, a contrast to the extravagant fragrance within its glass walls. Even the label is not adorned with any imagery or design, not one wispy romantic line, not one strand of flowers.

Chanel No.5’s sleek and simple design is reflective of Coco’s fashion sense, its expensive, rare ingredients also an indicator of her penchant for quality and style. Coco insisted her perfumer use only the finest materials known to the world of perfumery at the time in 1921, and that he did, making it rife with costly jasmine.

The bottle has an almost masculine air, masculinity then associated with luxury, classicism and worldliness, while femininity was associated with sensual images and encapsulated in rounder bottles representing a womanly figure. It is rumoured that Coco based her inspiration for No. 5’s bottle design around an existing bottle she had within an elegant toiletry set.

The bottle has undergone some changes during its long life; its first introduced in 1921 was in a clear, rounded-edged rectangular bottle—- that at first glance, is similar to the one in which it appears today. The stopper was inspired by a bird’s eye view of the Place Vendôme, a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The box packaging was created to represent an overcoat, fitting the form just so, and offering protection to the delicate materials beneath.

Over time the No.5 bottle has undergone six notable design changes (the last of which was in 1986) although its basic elements have not changed significantly. The label has gotten larger and the brand’s trademarked intertwined C’s now appear at the front of the collar, instead of on top of the stopper where they originated. The stopper is also now made of glass, and is thicker, as is the glass of the whole bottle.

The infamous bottle has secured its spot in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Though Coco Chanel has passed her legend lives on through her designs-— in fashion, fragrance, and everything she ever touched. Get your own bottle of this classically packaged fragrance at Perfume.com.

By Jessica Linnay
Published November 2nd, 2009 13:18

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