Where The Wild Roses Grow

The most heart-warming stories are often the ones told by family. Here, a conversation between two key members of the Chanel N°5 household - Chanel nose Olivier Polge and the perfume's celebrity face, Marion Cotillard - that took place during a tour of the flower farm in Grasse where the iconic scent is birthed, and which tells the story of this fabled land.

- Noelle Loh

MARION COTILLARD (MC): “What strikes me when I arrive at these fields is, of course, the smell, which is immediate, very powerful and envelops you. Then, when one gets closer, one discovers the delightful colour of the May rose and its powder-pink petals.” (The May rose is a central ingredient of Chanel N°5, with 12 required to concoct just 30ml.)

OLIVIER POLGE (OP): “Yes, the colour is beautiful. As the harvest progresses, the pink fields turn entirely green, which makes for a magical sight. This variety of May rose is called Centifolia.”

MC: “Because it has cent feuilles?” (Cent feuilles means one hundred leaves in French.)

OP: “Exactly. It got its name from its many petals and is a rare rose.”

MC: “Tell me a little bit about this location.”

OP: “We are here at the Chanel and Mul family farm, which comprises 30 hectares. These fields we are surrounded by produce five harvests that are reserved solely for the creation of perfume for the house of Chanel.” (This partnership was started 35 years ago – it was the idea of Polge’s father Jacques, who was the brand’s head perfumer from 1978 to 2015, to not only maintain the quality of the flowers needed, but to also sustain production and the land responsibly, and preserve the traditional know-how to do so.)

MC: “What are these five annual harvests?”