Friday, July 4th 2008
Design by subliminal influence
Take a close look at the picture of Paris above, which has been altered slightly for artistic effect. The orange square is Place Vendome. It’s also a bottle of Chanel No 5.
Coincidence? Apparently not.
Coco Chanel designed the Chanel No 5 bottle in 1921 to match the shape of Place Vendome, where she lived for 37 years at a suite in the Ritz.
Here are some pictures of the bottle design, showing its evolution through the years. The first two are from 1921, which suggest her original inspiration might not have been the Parisian square. The third, from 1924, looks slightly octagonal, but the stopper is more so. The fourth, from 1950, is closer to today’s shape, but still not quite the same shape as Place Vendome.
The basic shape has become iconic with the brand, being used for a number of other products such as the Chanel Premiere watch.
So is it coincidence? Was it truly designed this way?
Suddenly I’m looking at Otley Road, Headingley in a different light – will it appear in my next piece of packaging?!
Posted by Richard on Friday 4th of July 2008 at 1:24pm
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