From December 15 to January 9, 2023, Chanel will set up shop at the Grand Palais Éphémère, for the duration of an exhibition, to revisit the incredible history of the House’s fragrances.
Everyone knows or recognizes this scent of rose and jasmine, enhanced by light woody notes. Chanel Number 5 is THE perfume par excellence of the French House. And it becomes, from December 15th, the star of the exhibition Le grand Numéro de Chanel.
An exhibition that appeals to the five senses
The original idea is from Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, the director of creative resources for Chanel Perfume Beauty Watch and Jewelry. In an interview with Vogue, he says the project took more than a year to complete and pushes all the boundaries of what an immersive experience can be, in the collective imagination: “We didn’t want it to be a simple historical explanation, or an exhibition that only talks about one dimension of our perfumes… Because we know that they don’t have a linear history: there are different chapters.”
Visitors will be invited to use all their senses, but especially sight and smell. The opportunity for them to discover or rediscover sweet and woody notes that have embalmed women and men since 1924. Patchouli, jasmine, orange, orange blossom and rose: as many scents as there are bottles at this unmissable event. It promises to be rich in discovery and emotion. Enough to bring back a madeleine of Proust for some.
The initiator of this exhibition adds: “by involving the public, the event will be more like a sort of interactive cabaret.”
Chanel sees things in a big way
At the beginning of the tour, visitors will be greeted by a master of ceremonies, before being led on this “olfactory journey” through five rooms, “It will be a way to discover perfume, not only for what it smells like, but also for what it creates as overall sensations. People always ask what the magic of No. 5 is. We will put them in an emotional state that will allow them to discover the perfume in a different way, and then they will understand.
This retrospective invites the visitor to go back in time and the history of a House that has been transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary for over 60 years.
Read also > A LITTLE HISTORY OF LUXURY: THESE FIVE WOMEN AT THE ORIGIN OF THE GREAT HAUTE COUTURE COMPANIES
Featured photo : © Chanel fragrances
