The Night Train of Chanel

Created by Coco Chanel in 1921, No. 5 has remained the number one selling scent around the world. When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn Monroe famously responds, “Chanel No. 5”.

Monroe is among the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Ali McGraw, Claudia Schiffer, Jean Shrimpton, Carole Bouquet, Nicole Kidman and most recently, Audrey Tautou, in wearing and loving the perfume.
The fashion house has perfected the art of celebrity endorsement and for this reason remains a best-seller. The famous advertisements are the epitome of style, precision and perfection. Following the success of Baz Luhrmann’s cinematic ad, featuring Nicole Kidman, Chanel’s 2009 ad campaign starring French beauty, Tautou, proves to be a global spectacle.

The new short film advertising the fragrance is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and features the French actress, Audrey Tautou. This is to be the third collaboration between Jeunet and Tautou, after filming Amelie and The Long Engagement together. Filmed in Nice and on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, the advertisement portrays a brief sensual encounter between a man and a woman on the night train. The wide-eyed beauty, who has recently played the role of Coco Chanel in Anne Fontaine’s new film Coco avant Chanel, spoke of her appointment to the luxury fashion house: “Chanel No. 5 is a legend in itself. Even now I find it hard to believe”.

The quintessentially French fragrance is perfectly embodied by the unique and enchanting style of Audrey Tautou.

Rumour has it that No. 5 was made by accident, when too much of a particular aldehyde was added to a scent.

Accident or not, the scent is universal and classic. It will pass the test of time.