World of Fragrance Awaits at New CHANEL Exhibition

Attendees can expect an immersive olfactory journey at Le Grand Numéro de CHANEL, a new exhibition celebrating the art and magic of fragrance.

“The idea is to let yourself indulge in daydreaming, to chart your own path as you travel from one universe to another,” says Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, CHANEL’s head of global creative resources for fragrance & beauty.

Presented at the Grand Palais Éphémère, the event tells the stories of CHANEL perfume through a mesmerizing, multisensory experience. Visitors smell iconic perfumes and ingredients, explore the emotionally evocative power of scent, and discover the brand’s history with vintage artifacts and art inspired by the legendary CHANEL No.5.

“It’s a social experience,” du Pré de Saint Maur says.

The show’s title, translating as CHANEL’s Great Number, brings forth Gabrielle Chanel’s affinity for numeric symbolism, her ties to artistic performance, and time as a singer in Moulins at the start of the century.

But the show is ultimately a tribute to CHANEL perfume.

“The idea for this event was to demonstrate the singular nature of CHANEL fragrances,” Olivier Polge, the brand’s in-house perfumer, says. “We developed tools that allow people to smell fragrances as well as ingredients, making the experience fully immersive.”

“The magic of a fragrance also lies in the fact that we are unable to put our finger on the exact feeling that it arouses in us. And this element of mystery is part of the dream. For all these reasons, I hope visitors will be surprised,” Polge says.