Vanessa Paradise sits on black stairs wearing a black bodysuit with black feathers like a bird tail, a high neckline and elbow-length black gloves, holding a large Coco Chanel perfume bottle. A red cord is around her ankle, implying she is not free to fly away. The studio lighting on her creates a contrast emphasizing the model, the perfume, and the bold, dramatic setting. The bottom of the image features the text "Coco L'esprit de Chanel."

Chanel Icons: Vanessa Paradis

December 1, 2025

Vanessa Paradis starred in the legendary Chanel Number 5 campaign, setting a standard for elegance and style. Her daughter Lily Rose Depp continues the legacy today.

Chanel Icons: Vanessa Paradis

Chanel has long been synonymous with elegance, innovation, and timeless fragrance. In 1991, Vanessa Paradis brought the iconic Chanel Coco No. 5 to life in a memorable commercial, perched like a bird in a golden birdcage, blending playfulness and sophistication. Decades later, her daughter, Lily‑Rose Depp, continues the legacy as the face of No. 5 L’EAU, showcasing a modern take on the timeless fragrance while honoring her mother’s iconic moment.

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Vanessa Paradis

Vanessa Paradis, celebrated French actress and singer, became a symbol of elegance through her work with Chanel. In the 1991 Coco No. 5 commercial, she perched in a golden birdcage, whistling like a bird, wearing a sleek black bodysuit, black gloves, and fishnet stockings. Her performance combined poise, playfulness, and sensuality — qualities that made her the perfect embodiment of the Chanel spirit.

Behind the Scenes: Jean-Paul Goude’s Chanel Birdcage Film

The 1991 L’Esprit de Chanel, remains one of the most surreal and memorable fragrance ads in Chanel’s history. Directed by Jean-Paul Goude, Vanessa Paradis was imagined not as a model, but as a fragile bird — a concept inspired by a literal birdcage from Coco Chanel’s own Paris apartment.

Goude once explained the symbolism in a Washington Post profile:

“It’s a fairy tale … she’s supposed to be really terrified … a bird scared of some storm … there’s this cage in the apartment … This is a tale of when ghosts come back …”

To bring this vision to life, Vanessa trained for a week on the trapeze before filming began. According to an interview she gave later:

“I was 18 years old … I took an intensive week of trapeze lessons, then we spent a week in a military-camp hangar where they built this amazing ten-meter-high cage.”

Paradis also remembered the chemistry on set fondly, saying she was “completely under the charm of Jean-Paul Goude, who I found irresistibly handsome and artistically gifted.”

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The Creative Process

Goude’s creative process for L’Esprit de Chanel was deeply rooted in fantasy and theatrical storytelling. He reportedly took inspiration from both Paradis’s delicate appearance (“She looks just like Tweety Bird”) and the ghost stories of Coco Chanel’s apartment. He considered the advertisement more than a simple commercial — for him, it was “a moment of truth … I expose myself directly,” he once said.

The ad was shot in a purpose-built set. A 10-meter-high golden cage, complete with dramatic lighting, shadows, and wind effects to evoke a stormy, ghostly atmosphere. Throughout the spot, Paradis swings, whistles a soft melody (Harold Arlen’s Stormy Weather). She gently interacts with a bottle of Coco, creating a dreamlike narrative that blurs the line between fantasy and perfume.

What makes this campaign remarkable is its layered meaning. While it foregrounds the perfume, Goude’s direction and Paradis’s performance elevate it to a miniature film — one that evokes vulnerability, freedom, and a hint of danger, all wrapped in the elegance that Chanel embodies.

: Images belong to Chanel

Coco Eau de Parfum Spray

What it is: A mysterious, provocative fragrance that gradually reveals its contrasting notes.

Fragrance story: COCO expresses the intensity of Gabrielle Chanel’s personality and her love of all things Baroque. This eau de parfum opens with a citrus note of Sicilian mandarin. A voluptuous heart of jasmine absolute is heightened by touches of ylang-ylang from the Comoros and Tunisian orange blossom for captivating harmony. It leaves behind a vibrant trail of Indonesian patchouli, benzoin and a note of tonka.

: Images belong to Chanel

Scent Profile

Top Notes: Sicilian mandarin.

Heart Notes: jasmine absolute, ylang-ylang, Tunisian orange blossom.

Base Notes: Indonesian patchouli, benzoin, tonka.

If you would like to purchase this perfume for yourself, you can get a free gift clicking my link when you purchase a beauty or fragrance product at www.nordstrom.com.

Lily-Rose Depp

Lily-Rose Depp has steadily built a career that stands apart from her famous lineage. The daughter of French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis and actor Johnny Depp, she began acting in her teens and quickly earned recognition for her thoughtful, emotionally intuitive performances. She took on early roles in films like “The Dancer” and “Planetarium,” followed by projects that leaned darker or more experimental, including “Voyagers” and the holiday black comedy “Silent Night.” In 2023, she became a cultural talking point with her leading role as Jocelyn in HBO’s The Idol, a series co-created by Sam Levinson and The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), where she showcased a blend of raw intensity and vulnerability.

Her momentum continued with her role in the long-anticipated horror remake “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, positioning her alongside some of the most respected names in the genre. With each new project, Lily-Rose proves she’s not just following in her parents’ footsteps — she’s carving out a cinematic identity that’s unpredictable, ambitious, and entirely her own

: Images belong to Chanel

Behind the Scenes: Lily-Rose Depp’s Chanel No. 5 L’EAU Campaign

The 2019 holiday campaign for Chanel No. 5 L’EAU is a whimsical and magical film directed by Jean-Paul Goude, who has worked with Chanel for decades. (The Glass Magazine) The ad opens like a fairy-tale: Lily-Rose Depp sits atop a three-metre-high No. 5 L’EAU bottle, gazing into a snow globe that mirrors the set around her — a giant double-C logo, gifts, and swirling snow. (Fragrantica)

Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, Head of Global Creative Resources at Chanel, described the tone of the film as “poetry, magic, joy and surprise.” (Fragrantica) Goude himself praised Lily-Rose’s performance: “For me, Lily-Rose incarnates the freshness and vivacity of a young girl, mixed with the maturity of a seasoned actress.” (Chanel N°5 Campaign, Beauty Packaging)

Lily-Rose Depp has said of the shoot: “I loved playing the character created by Jean-Paul. The joy and wonderment reminded me of how I felt as a little girl on Christmas morning.” (Fragrantica) The director built the set deliberately to feel larger than life — Goude ordered a life-size (3 m) No. 5 L’EAU bottle to function as a prop she could sit on, giving the ad a surreal, enchanted realism. (The Impression)

Visually, the campaign leans into Goude’s signature style: vibrant touches of red in Lily-Rose’s boots and accessories, fantastical augmented-reality sequences, and vintage glamour. (Fragrantica) According to Beauty Packaging, the goal was to “immerse viewers in the magical winter realm of Chanel,” creating a sense of dreamy fantasy rather than just a straightforward holiday commercial. (Beauty Packaging)