Launched in 2007, Les Exclusifs de Chanel is the Company's niche collection that (until recently has been famous by its 200 ml bottles) and always are scented symbols of CoCo Chanel's life. It had been expanded by Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake every year until 2010 , when Les Exclusifs was put on hold for the masculine launch of Bleu de Chanel. (Bleu de Chanel is the number one masculine since its launch and received FiFi awards in Paris and New York).
When I visited the Chanel headquarters, for the unveiling of Chanel 19 Poudre, Jacques Polge announced the new name of the upcoming Les Exclusif – Jersey. As soon as Chanel fans heard the news, they were making their guesses – what would Jersey smells like? What would be its notes and scent profile? What note could better evoke the soft drapes of the fabric that revolutionied fashion for women – jersey.
I remember my guess wast hat Jersey could be a sport cologne (or am osmanthus absolute) I thought this perfume would be devoted to new Chanel in-house ingredients; Chanel perfumer Chris Sheldrake told me about orris plantation in Grasse and Austro-Caledonian Sandalwood forest recultivated in Vanuatu.
(Our EIC Michelyn Camen hoped it would be vanilla and leather).
Jersey is a weightless lavender cologne, clean and crisp, soft and sweet. Jersey is a cologne that evokes a gray-lavender transparent veil.
It`s a fractionated lavender (as in Brin de Reglisse Hermessence) which has been separated from all the dirty aspects. You could easily recall the acid aspects of wet chalk in Caron pour un homme, Impact Caron & A Taste of Heaven by Kilian – the perfumes where lavender absolute and lavender oil presents in its full glory (I had a hard time recalling my school duty of wiping blackboard by soaked wet rag that been white of chalk).
In my opinion Impact and A Taste of Heaven by Kilian (Calice Becker) are Jersey'a most powerful competitors, They are both masculine lavender-amber-vanilla perfumes, strong and lasting, while Jersey is lighter.
Jersey is a warm and tender wind of July morning in Laduree street café. It is a French dessert like a lavender macaron. If licorice was added to Jersey . it would be similar to Jean Claude Ellena's Brin de Reglisse out of it. Instead Polge-Sheldrake used some vanilla-like sweet note.(I`d say it`s Isobutavan a marshmallow-like note) And now, after two weeks wearing Jersey Chanel, I should admit that Michelyn was half-right.
.Jersey's sillage and longevity are below average, the basenotes of coumarin, woods and muscs would fit the the classification of a sport fougere cologne. Since I needed to spray Jersey constantly to stay on my skin to last least 4 hours; it is not a sillage monster, as Ida Meister would say. It is a watercolor not an oil painting.
Duke of Grosvenor Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor with Coco Chanel
I believe that Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake originally to named Jersey "Project Bendor" after the Duke of Westminster, who was Coco Chanel's lover (he was married) from 1925 to 1930. Lavender colognes were popular in Britain, so Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor The Duke of Westminster would have used lavender colognes as well. (Since the Chanel corporation only use Coco Chanel symbols, Project Bendor became Jersey).
(Editor's Notes: One famous story is that he hid a huge uncut emerald at the bottom of a crate of vegetables for her, another is that he showed up at Chanel's apartment with an enormous bouquet of flowers and was only recognized after Chanel's assistant tried to hand "the delivery boy" a tip. It is also reputed that he had her distinctive logo placed on lamposts on the Grosvenor estate in Central London, a story which is denied by the Grosvenor estate today).
The Rye Field Ivan Ivanovich SHISHKIN
Lately, Jersey is my "invisible" constant companion; it is soothing, calm, unassuming – I wear it for the office and when I'm stressed; the lavender is sooothing and perfect for a stroll. In summary I wear Jersey when I don't want to try too hard or when life needs a splash of refreshing scent.
–Sergey Borisov, Monthly Contributor
."There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel.”-Coco Chanel