Launched in 1921, the Chanel N°5 will mark its centennial next year – cementing its status as an icon in the olfactory industry. While it has undergone a number of updates and variations throughout the years, the scent remains a sophisticated fragrance with a lightly floral and subtly musky profile to evoke the innate power of an independent, multi-faceted woman that Coco Chanel herself championed.

The Chanel N°5 was created to capture the essence of the multifaceted woman. It was concocted by French-Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux, the personal nose for the Tsar and his family who lived in Grasse, the epicentre of the perfumery world.

While most fragrances of the time were formulated with a single note and were mainly floral-scented or citrus-based, they do not last long on the skin and do not possess a depth to their scent profile.

What Beaux created was cocktail of ingredients such as May rose, jasmine, vetiver, ylang-ylang, bergamot, lemon, sandalwood, and vanilla. To accentuate the notes and add more complexity, he added the chemical components called aldehydes – a first for its time.

Chanel later said: “It was what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman.”

The French actress has been a friend of the brand since the beginning of her career, walking the red carpet in Chanel for the Jean-Pierre Jeunet film A Very Long Engagement in 2004 and Olivier Dahan’s La Vie En Rose in 2008.

In February, the Oscar-winning actress was named as the new brand ambassador for the and was quickly revealed as the new face for the fragrance, lending her effortless French chic and beauty to the fragrance.

The gold column dress Cottilard donned in the film is an update of a dress previously worn by Coco Chanel herself. It features embroidery that was requested in 1996 by then creative director Karl Lagerfeld and is carefully sewn with over 10,000 embroidered sequins to reflect light with each movement. Made out of gold lace, the entire dress contributes to the idea of freedom and grace.

The film starts off with Cotillard draped in a black cape walking across a snow-covered Parisian bridge. She meets her lover atop a moon and the two engage in a seductive yet graceful and elegant dance.

The film embodies an ideal: it is made for a woman who strives to accomplish her dreams, and pays tribute to the history of N°5, all while making the unique and radical choice to consider beauty as a bet of joy and equality.