Chanel Celebrates Lily-Rose Depp as the Face of N°5 L’EAU

Lily-Rose Depp was in a London airport when she first saw her new campaign for Chanel No 5o L’eau in the wild. “It was a few weeks ago and I was so excited as I walked by,” she said, beaming between two statement hoop earrings that matched the sparkling gold beaded bolero she wore as a crop top last night at the Sunset Tower Hotel. Depp was being fêted by Chanel and friends for her fall campaign. “It’s just crazy because I’ve always passed by all of these amazing beauty and perfume ads in airports, and to see mine as one of them was a surreal moment, I’m honored.”

That day, she was too rushed to stop and snap a photo (and no fellow travelers seemed to notice the resemblance), but on the way back, she stood next to the campaign on the airport wall and took a picture to send to her mother, Vanessa Paradis, consummate French woman and longtime Chanel muse.

As the evening at the Sunset Tower went on, it became clear that Paradis wasn’t the only mom who inspired Chanel nostalgia. Guest after guest – from Milla Jovovich to Phoebe Tonkin— mentioned the space Chanel No 5o occupied in their olfactory memories – as kids watching mothers and grandmothers undergo the rituals of dressing for a night out. Ninety-five years after No 5o was created, the fragrance has been updated for a new generation (by nose Olivier Polge, whose father previously held the role at the brand), with lighter lemon, mandarin and orange notes accenting the may rose and jasmine composition for which it is known.

Lily-Rose’s familiar cheekbones are passing the traditional-yet-updated fragrance to an entirely new generation. Chanel darlings past, present and future were there: Pharrell and wife Helen Lasichanh, who sent photogs into a frenzy when she strolled a baby bump down the red carpet; Kristen Stewart, who made a beeline for the floor pillows during cocktails; Jesse Jo Stark; and Mario Testino, who stood on the stairs in the center of the terrace where he could get the lay of the land.

After a candlelit dinner, the crowd moved back outside, where Nas performed with the twinkling city as background. “We typically celebrate Chanel in Paris or New York,” noted Jovovich earlier. “And it’s nice to be doing this in Los Angeles.”

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