Chanel’s Bois Noir fragrance was created (circa 1986-87) because Chanel’s chairman of the board Alain Wertheimer “wanted something new to wear.”* Wertheimer’s marketing approach to Bois Noir was novel: Bois Noir was not sold in department stores (it was only available in Chanel boutiques); there were no promotions (such as “gift-with-purchase” offers; Wertheimer hated those); and he didn’t really care if Bois Noir was a money-maker for his company. Wertheimer spoke frankly in a 1987 interview and said there were few unusual fragrances like Bois Noir because — “People want success too quickly. From a fragrance point of view, people like what their memory tells them is good. Memory tells you it’s good if it relates to something else you like. When a fragrance is completely different, they’re lost.”*

By April of 1990, things had changed — Bois Noir’s name for one. Amidst a flashy (and expensive) print and film ad campaign — the largest ever for a Chanel men’s fragrance — Bois Noir (no doubt with some tweaking of its formula) became Égoïste and was widely launched: in department stores no less! In its advertisements, which included the now-famous Jean-Paul Goude TV commercial, Chanel didn’t use images of men…

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