A NO.5 STATE OF MIND

At Chanel, it’s Thomas du Pre de Saint Maur’s (above) job to craft visuals for the French maison. The man is responsible for some of the house’s most iconic imagery, placing screen sirens such as Marion Cotillard and Nicole Kidman with directors like Moulin Rouge’s Baz Luhrmann to create fantastical films for its fragrance campaigns.

But for Factory 5, there is no muse. He’s chosen instead to buck tradition and go for a purely product-driven campaign. “This time the muse is the product itself. We live in a world that is so saturated by images, I didn’t want to come up with a new campaign, a new face so soon.”

Over a video call, Du Pre de Saint Maur gestures to the campaign behind him – blown-up posters resembling Warholian artworks rather than brand campaigns. In fact, he took inspiration from the Pop Art movement for the capsule, as well as Factory 5’s name.

“Pop Art pretty much questions the value of things, and whether a disposable product can become a source of art,” he explains. “We wanted to do something similar and take packaging that originally had no value, and turn them into luxury products.”

What does he want people to take away from the collection? First, “the energy, the joy, and the coolness of the collection”, and next, the fact that No.5 “dared to reinvent itself”. In fact, time and time again in our conversation, Du Pre de Saint Maur stresses the importance of being unexpected and audacious, an ethos that he says speaks for both No.5 and himself.

“The moment you’re scared of change, you start to get old in your mind. If you are curious about the world and are willing to experience things, then you’ll always be young. I want No.5 to always remain bold, and a daring vision of luxury that allows it to be reinvented all the time.”

Chanel Factory 5 is available in July/ August.