Chanel Releases Unseen Footage of Marilyn Monroe

There are few fragrance images as powerful and persuasive as Ed Feingersh’s iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe anointing herself with Chanel No. 5 in 1955. You can't look at it without getting swept away in the seductive fantasy of glamour. Marilyn famously told a reporter in 1954 that all she wore to bed at night was "five drops of Chanel No. 5." She wasn't paid to say it or paid to wear the fragrance. There wasn't a team of stylists and groomers in her room at the Arlington Hotel, whipping together a moment that looked spontaneous. The moment was authentic, drenched in seductiveness. And half a century later, it's just as potent. 

 

Now, for the very first time, Chanel has released footage of Marilyn giving the interview. As part of the brand's "Inside Chanel" video series, this installment pieces together rare interviews and photos of Marilyn and her affinity for Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's 1921 fragrant collaboration with Ernest Beaux.