Scent of a Woman

When a name is as recognizable as Coco Chanel, it’s easy to forget that before it became a global luxury brand it was simply a nickname given to a young aspiring chanteuse called Gabrielle.

Born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France, Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel was sent to live in a convent after the death of her mother. Her formative years were spent learning to sew. At the tender age of 18 she left the nuns and started work as a seamstress in the town of Moulins, where she would also attempt to launch a career as a stage performer. While that path didn’t pan out, many of her other creative pursuits did—such as setting up her first millinery in Paris, revolutionizing fashion by designing garments made of jersey that allowed women freedom of movement, and creating the iconic Chanel No. 5 fragrance.

But it wasn’t Chanel’s aspirations alone that drove her. Many of her achievements were also a result of her rebellious spirit. After all, at a time when ladies were dressed (or trussed) up in voluminous clothing and elaborate headgear, she regularly opted for blazers, shirts and trousers. Her milliner’s boutique sold hats that were simple yet elegant—a sharp contrast to the frilly, feathery creations of the day. She also kept her black curls in a short bob, inevitably adding to her androgynous allure.

It is this very aspect of Mlle. Chanel’s character that the brand’s latest perfume release—its first entirely new scent in a decade-and-a-half—draws inspiration from. Gabrielle Chanel Eau de Parfum is “le nez” Olivier Polge’s conceptualization of an “ideal white flower”. Composed of ylang-ylang, jasmine and orange blossom—tuberose, too, from Chanel’s own perfumery in Grasse, France—the aroma is immediately floral, but full of depth and complexity, much like its namesake.

The glass-bottle design is an equally groundbreaking feat—a technological innovation that took the House of Chanel years to develop. Square-ish in shape and with subtly bevelled sides, it evokes a sense of lightness in its crisp, clean lines and allows the scent’s golden liquid hue to, literally, shine through.

For two, it’s an homage to Chanel’s own treasured creations and possessions. Lamé (a shade between gold and silver) is the colour of the bottle cap and label—a tribute to the gold, silver, white and black tweed fabric used in her haute couture creations. The dual-coloured perfume box—also lamé on the outside and gold on the inside—is modelled after a gold and vermeil toiletries case given to Chanel by the Duke of Westminster (he was one of her lovers).

Like the woman it’s named for, Gabrielle Chanel is a scent that aims to break the mould—and, in our humble opinion, it has succeeded. —Isabel Ong