Chanel No. 5

Perhaps the most famous perfume in the world, most memorably endorsed by Marilyn Monroe, Chanel No 5 continues to fascinate and claim millions of fans around the world. Created by Coco Chanel in 1921, this perfume was one of the first to use synthetics. To complement her pioneering fashion, Chanel wanted to give the modern woman “a perfume, but an artificial perfume… not roses or lilies of the valley… fragrances that are composite,” presented in a distinctly shortened glass bottle. it became an icon in its own right (decades later inspiring a series of works by Andy Warhol). Presented in two volumes (one on the early years of Chanel No. 5 from 1921 to 1945, the other on the period when Chanel No. 5 became truly global, from the postwar years to the present day), Chanel No. 5 explores the evolution of the packaging, composition, production, and marketing of the perfume, with unprecedented access to Chanel’s archives and those charged with creating the fragrance today.