What has Chanel No. 5 to do with Soviet Red Moscow perfume
RBTH
07 May 2021, 04:55 GMT+10
What s common between the most famous Western scent and the emblematic Soviet aroma? Both have roots in Russian Imperial history.
No perfume was more popular in Soviet times than Red Moscow. As everything in the Communist state, people decorated their homes in the same way, ate the same meals and dressed in the same way. Likewise, Soviet women all had the same scent. It filled the air on every festive occasion in the Soviet Union - at the Moscow Conservatory, in the Bolshoi Theatre, at graduation ceremonies and weddings, German historian Karl Schlögel writes in his book, The Scent of Empire. Chanel No. 5 and Red Moscow, (Translated by Jessica Spengler, Polity publications, 2021).
What has Chanel No. 5 to do with Soviet Red Moscow perfume? Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: Chanel, Novaya Zarya) What’s common between the most famous Western scent and the emblematic Soviet aroma? Both have roots in Russian Imperial history.
No perfume was more popular in Soviet times than Red Moscow. As everything in the Communist state, people decorated their homes in the same way, ate the same meals and dressed in the same way. Likewise, Soviet women all had the same scent. It filled the air on every festive occasion in the Soviet Union - at the Moscow Conservatory, in the Bolshoi Theatre, at graduation ceremonies and weddings, German historian Karl Schlögel writes in his book,
daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride to all the fascinating things that happened today!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of History. Let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 5th of May”.
1260 Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire
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Kublai Khan was a Mongolian general and statesman who was the grandson and greatest successor of Genghis Khan. He was the fifth emperor (reigned 1260–94) of the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty. In 1279 he completed the conquest of China begun by Genghis Khan and became the first Yuan ruler of all of China.
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On this day 100 years ago, the iconic designer Coco Chanel debuted her new perfume, Chanel No. 5, at her Paris shop. The scent and the woman has had a lasting influence on the business of fragrance.
So much about Mlle. Chanel was remarkable and distinctly Coco: she lived at the Hotel Ritz in Paris for more than 20 years. She had an unrivaled menagerie of animal sculptures. Her library contained more than 4,000 books, most in 18
th-century bindings. She loved and amassed a collection of costume jewelry.
Chanel collected people as well: Her private clients included the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Françoise Sagan, Lauren Bacall, and Sophia Loren. And her friends were an even more rarified bunch: Picasso, Cocteau, Cécile Sorel, Stravinsky, and Diaghilev.
Our Jewellery Editor s top five pieces from Chanel s new No5-inspired high jewellery collection
The house has released its largest ever high jewellery collection in celebration of its signature perfume s centenary
5 May 2021 • 2:56pm
Chanel Blushing Sillage bracelet in pink gold with diamonds, rubies, spinels, garnets and yellow sapphires
The fifth of May is an auspicious date for the house of Chanel. The fifth day of the fifth month, it’s the date that Gabrielle Chanel chose to present her fashion collections. The designer’s lucky number also gained a place in history as the name of her first fragrance.
The story goes that perfumer Ernest Beaux presented her with several different samples, simply labelled with numbers, and it was the fifth concoction - with the addition of aldehyde - that she plumped for. Chanel No 5 celebrates its centenary this year, and as part of the year-long celebrations, the house today launched a new high jewellery collection inspired by the ico