How CHANEL celebrated 100 years of N°5 and a new store in Miami
On December 1, Chanel’s double-C monogram took to the night sky above Miami Beach’s Faena Hotel in the form of an illuminated drone show. The machines morphed into a visual narrative that depicted the perfume’s legacy, blending with the stars above South Beach.
The next evening, Chanel hosted a cocktail party to toast the opening of its newest Peter Marino-designed store, located in Miami’s thriving Design District. At 7,600 square feet over two floors, the boutique sees Marino’s signature sleek-chic aesthetic transformed into an arty tropical aerie, which features works by such names as Vera Lutter and Gregor Hildebrandt.
“In 1921,” Devlin also noted, “fragrances were available in single note roses or jasmines. I believe that Coco Chanel didn’t think that was any longer appropriate.” Chanel herself would end up selecting N°5 because, in it, she smelled “daily life.” It became the first commercial fragrance made by a woman, and it remains a bestseller a century later. This modernity and interplay are what Devlin captures in, with its futurist curves alongside its botanical splendor.