In 1920, following the successful launch of her couture house in Biarritz, France, and her subsequent move to Paris’s Rue Cambon, where she opened her flagship boutique, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel decided to create her first fragrance.
She commissioned the French Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux to develop “a woman’s perfume, with a woman’s scent” — which, unlike most single-note options of the era, had a bold floral composition.
Months later, he presented Chanel with an array of aromatic vials, and she chose the one labeled five.
The bottle was topped with a square glass stopper with two interlocking sans-serif C’s, marking the debut of Chanel’s now-iconic logo.
In 1924, the stopper was redesigned as a bevel-cut octagon, but it has otherwise remained largely the same for the past century.
Persons:
Gabrielle “ Coco ” Chanel, Ernest Beaux, Chanel, Beaux, “, men’s toiletries, —, Boy Capel
Locations:
Biarritz, France, Russian, Grasse, Madagascar, Brazilian, —, Chanel’s