jeudi 25 septembre 2008

Chanel Cuir de Russie, a whiff of emancipation



When I escorted a group of students from the London School of Fashion to last year’s Années Folles exhibition in the Parisian Musée Galliéra, I had them smell some of the fragrances of the era: Lanvin My Sin, Jean Patou Cocktail, Shalimar, N°5… and Chanel Cuir de Russie. To my surprise, most of them (19/20 year-old Americans) preferred the latter despite its animalic facets, though they tend to wear the ubiquitous fruity florals of the generation… Was it by comparison, because some of the other fragrances smelled of “old lady-ish” aldehydes? Because “leather” gave them a point of reference, as opposed to the other, more abstract compositions? Or was it transference, because they had correctly guessed that their lecturer loved Cuir de Russie above all the others?

If there was only one for me, Chanel Cuir de Russie would probably be it.


Its warm, slightly oily, tarry base notes of styrax, birch tar and castoreum, which discreetly recall the most luxurious of leathers, are punctured by the aldehydic fizz; these thousands of pinpricks infuse the iris into the leather notes, to open up and dry up the composition. When the iris rises up again, propelled by the aldehydes, it carries all the other floral notes with it: jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, orange blossom…


That’s the genius of the composition. Cuir de Russie (1924) isn’t the first fragrance of the family – it was already a genre in and of itself since Guerlain’s and Rimmel’s 1875 launch of their own “cuir de Russie”… It isn’t even the first feminine leather fragrance: Caron had been selling Tabac Blond, an oriental version of the theme, to women since 1919.


But it is a very peculiar version of the genre, because of the strong dose of iris – according to Luca Turin, this is more of a leathery iris than a leather fragrance as such. The very structure of the scent (as in Bois des Iles and N°22) is a variation of that of N°5 – which already displays a slightly leathery base, especially perceptible in the vintage versions.

Thus, Chanel Cuir de Russie is first and foremost a distinctly Chanel/Beaux aldehydic floral with a leather base, rather than a true “cuir de Russie” like, say, L.T. Piver’s.


When Gabrielle Chanel decided to add it to her catalogue, it wasn’t just because the “cuir de Russie” scents were fashionable (her collection did comprise a Jasmin, a Rose and a Chypre, all compulsory references for perfume houses at the time). During the post-WWI years, White Russians flowed to Paris, intensifying a yen for all things Russian that had already been awakened by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Chanel herself was surrounded by Russians, starting with her perfumer Ernest Beaux; she was friends with the impresario Diaghilev, the composer Igor Stravinsky, the dancer Serge Lifar; between 1920 and 1923, she had an affair with the Grand Duke Dimitri, who was probably the one who introduced her to Ernest Beaux, a perfumer at the Imperial Court for the Russian house of Rallet.

Russia inspired her collections during that period. She borrowed the peasant blouse; she worked with furs; her fabrics were adorned with Slavic motifs by the embroidery house founded by Dimitri’s own sister, the Grand Duchess Maria.


Leather was also a scent of the zeitgeist. As a material, it was traditionally associated with masculine pursuits (cars, aviation, travel, English club chairs), the very activities the 1920s Garçonnes appropriated: as a note, it became the olfactory emblem of the emancipation of women.

The house of Chanel was keenly aware of this: a 1936 text, possibly handed out to salesladies and found by Richard Stamelman, who quotes it at length in Perfume : Joy, Obsession, Scandal, Sin, makes this crystal-clear:

“It is the very scent of travel, of the transatlantic cabin, of the hotel room where she closes sumptuous suitcases, her heart filled with the vigorous joy of promising discoveries and rich tomorrows. And this is why I easily imagine this perfume floating in the wake of a tall, slender brunette, whose moves are confident, whose voice is accustomed to giving orders, and whose fingers are slightly darkened by tobacco. She is one of those women who always wears a suit, even at midnight at the Savoy…”

In the same period, an ad, also quoted by Stamelman, warns that “well-bred ladies [will find] its scent improper”…


Today, Cuir de Russie is probably a little less animalic than in its original version: the castoreum used, if any, is no longer the Russian variety with its birch tar facets (Russian beavers eat birch), but rather the Canadian stuff (Canuck beavers feed on conifers).


But it is still an invitation to travel – travel in a bygone era of Hermès trunks and luxuriously upholstered cars rushing to Saint-Petersburg… An era for which even 20 year-old American students can yearn. But it remains as modern as a leather jacket slipped over a little black dress – which, to me, feels like home.


Chanel Cuir de Russie is now available solely in 200 ml eau de toilette bottles, in the Exclusifs collection. Despite rumors to the contrary, the parfum is still sold in 30 ml bottles in both of Chanel’s Parisian boutiques. Though the parfum most fully expresses the beauty of the composition, the eau de toilette is also excellent and well worth the price.


Image: Chanel 1922 “Russian” model from Vogue (document kindly forwarded by Octavian Sever Coifan of 1000fragrances from his own archives).

22 commentaires:

  1. Cuir de Russie 's airy/fizzy, fugacious and elusive qualities make it so ageless and easy to wear, at least in its eau de toilette version. Aldehydic infused iris gives it this cool restraint Chanel elegance. Just wished the edt version was more tenacious on me, I can hardly detect anything after a couple of hours. I 'd love to get the parfum (preferably a well preserved vintage).

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  2. Emmanuella, I'm quite happy with the edt but you really have to douse yourself in it, and preferably hit some clothes and hair, to get any lasting power. The parfum is marvellous in its current version but I suspect the vintage must be mindblowing, with the Russian castoreum and real musk...
    Otherwise, you've pretty much summed up why I love it too.

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  3. D -- thank you so much for this lovely piece on one of my all time favourites, Chanel's Cuir de Russie. Now that the weather is turning cooler here, I find myself longing for it constantly. I have a tiny bottle of the parfum, but will be ordering more soon.

    I do wish I could find some vintage to try. I have seen some floating around on ebay, but it all seems fabulously expensive, and the juice is often VERY dark indeed.

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  4. Jarvis, I've seen CdR on eBay too, and bid, but always lost. I'm almost afraid of falling too hard for *that* version, you know?

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  5. You and I HAVE to STOP this...you know ?

    My bottle of parfum should arrive this day; I'm dying for it, I admit.

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  6. Yes, Chaya, I believe people are starting to talk... I have the parfum too, it's gorgeous. Makes me feel I've come home (was I a beaver in another life... or a cabin trunk?).

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  7. What a great review! Thank you! Now I have to try this one finally.
    lavinia

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  8. Thanks, Lavinia. CdR is not the leatheriest leather, but to me, it's the loveliest...

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  9. Iris, you say? I have to try it again to see if I get more of it this time. Maybe I'll make a trip over there on my way to Hermes...yes, I really am going! I'm picking up a bottle of Vetiver Tonka for the bf.

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  10. Billy, I thought you were off iris? I'm not such an iris lover as you are, but it's so brilliantly combined here with the leather notes and aldehydes... Report back!
    Vetiver Tonka is a lovely choice. I'd have gotten it a long time ago if only it would stay on me more than an hour...

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  11. I am still off iris...I'm just really into Ambre Narguile right now. It's become my favorite. Except when I went to buy Vetiver Tonka yesterday, it ended up being 220.00. When did that happen??

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  12. Billy, about the prices, I have no idea. Amber in strong doses makes me a bit queasy, so I'm not going near Ambre Narguilé any time soon, but I think it's one of the best in that family. Did you get a chance to pop into Chanel?

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  13. No, I didn't...it was raining chiens et chats here, and i was soaked by the time I got to Hermes. Luckily, the salewoman tied up my little orange bag and box in a protective raincoat. I know you are averse to amber, and I definitely used to be the same. I still don't love strong strong amber, but something about AN really speaks to me. And it lasts forever, goes through a myriad of varied stages, and does indeed evoke cashmere. Plus the bottles are really gorgeous in person. Understated and chic.

    Have you heard about the Kelly Caleche parfum that's supposedly coming out soon? I think it's going to have more leather than normal KC, so it may be right up your alley:-)

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  14. Billy, you'll try Cuir de Russie some other time, I trust. And yes I have heard of the new Kelly Calèche parfum. I haven't had the time to investigate and as it's fashion week out here, it'll be a little while -- I'm covering some shows for a French webzine. Don't get your knickers in a bunch, it's mostly the Belgians, no huge shows!

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  15. I'd love to hear a comparison of cuir de russie and kelly caleche. Also I'd like to explore the iris in cuir de russie because I haven't sensed it much in the past.

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  16. Ce commentaire a été supprimé par un administrateur du blog.

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  17. Hi Cait! For the iris, it's just sort of a matter of tilting your mental nose that way, and then it sort of pops up amidst the aldehydes. But the whole thing's so marvellously blended it's hard to distinguish it per se if you're not looking for it.
    As for the KC,it can't possibly have to do with CdR considering their respective authors. But I suspect that Hermès may have paid heed to the fact that many people (me included) couldn't get much leather out of it.

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  18. Nina Ricci was sort of a dissapointment. I am not a fan of the whole short-in-front, long-in-back thing, no matter how beautiful he does his chiffons. It always seems like a wedding dress from 1992 or something. And strange this resurgence of Balmain, no? I still don't really get it or love it (a tad trashy for me), but I do trust Carine implicitly.

    Chanel on friday!

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  19. I'm late to this topic, but I have to pipe up to say that this is one of the few perfumes I've ponied up for the full retail price on a bottle. I bought a .5oz parfum last year as a Christmas present to myself from the Chicago Chanel store. Best purchase I ever made! Chaya, I hope you looooove it.

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  20. Aimée, you couldn't have made a better choice. Also, this means that the parfum can indeed be bought in the USA: many people seem to think that it's not available there anymore.

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  21. A beautiful and factually rich commentary on one of the best Chanel fragrances around. Though the perfume is still available in the U.S., I understand that a few ingredients have been removed due to regulation. If this continues, none of the classics we know and love will smell the same. I don't know about you, but I prefer a cartoon anvil to the head as opposed to commercially foisted amnesia.

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  22. Michelle, thank your for your comment and for popping by. I couldn't agree more. There's something ominous about the perfume industry's perpetual, quasi-Stalinian rewriting of history. I understand that when a fragrance is reformulated, the new formula replaces the original one at the Osmothèque... To paraphrase Luca, I'd risk scrofula to get back my old fill-in-the-blank. In this particular case, I've never smelled vintage Cuir de Russie, but clearly, many ingredients must have been replaced to comply with ever-increasing regulations. Chanel cares deeply about its heritage and the reformulation is surely the best they can do, which is some consolation. It's still gorgeous, such as it is.

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