Chanel N°5 jewellery offers a whiff of elegant, insouciant glamour
For many, the first whiff of Chanel N°5 is an introduction—even before a sense of the fancy flights of jewellery or haute couture—to a world of beauty, sophistication and elegance. The fragrance has a famous story, of course. Gabrielle Chanel, a believer in numerological superstition, used to hold her haute couture presentations on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year; when she created her first handbag, it was in the year 1955. And when it came to selecting the first fragrance for her maison, created by Ernest Beaux, she picked the fifth bottle and named it thus.
So it's no surprise that the number five has tremendous significance at the house of Chanel. Considered a pinnacle of the maison's codes, the number embodies the success and power of a modern woman as Gabrielle Chanel envisioned her, a woman who she once said must be 'a part of what is to come'. Whether as liquid or gold and diamonds, Chanel has bottled the essence of glamour and sensuality. Eternal N°5 Diamond Line necklace in yellow gold with diamonds, price upon request; Eternal N°5 bangle in beige gold with diamonds, $15,250; and Extrait de N°5 ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $6,000 Courtesy of Chanel
That spirit is suffused, naturally, in Collection N°5, a line of fine jewellery dedicated to this enduring symbol. As jewellery, Chanel has transformed the number five and its associated scent into precious creations in gold and diamonds.
N°5 the perfume was revolutionary in its time for an abstracted and unique scent profile. Beaux, the nose behind it, sought painstakingly and unrelentingly for the finest ingredients to compose the parfum: the lushness of Grasse rose tinged with raspberry notes, the indolic richness of jasmine and voluptuousness of ylang-ylang that is sweet yet bright, and through it all modernist aldehydes that sparkle and blend the notes into an abstracted bouquet. The result is that N°5 is a scent you recognise as much by how it smells as the number that symbolises it. Eternal N°5 Diamond Line bracelet in white gold with diamonds, price upon request Courtesy of Chanel Eternal N°5 Diamond Line necklace in white gold with diamonds, price upon request Courtesy of Chanel
This combination of sensuality and structure is expressed in Collection N°5 fine jewellery through several details. The lucky number is shaped and curved like ribbons of gold, adorned or cradled in its curve with diamonds that recall the sparkling character of the scent. Diamond-set drop motifs evoke the rich amber liquid of the perfume, almost as if applied with a dab on the skin. And the famous rectangular bottle of the perfume, with its octagonal stopper that recalls Place Vendôme, is reflected in bevelled and mirror-polished edges on the numeral.
This year, the house of Chanel is introducing a new style to the collection. Dubbed the Eternal N°5 Diamond Line, these designs are marked by a string of round diamonds and feature the signature diamond-set five and drop motifs. There is a necklace which can be worn either on a short length or as a choker, offered in beige, yellow and white gold, and which is set with a GIA-certified 0.30-carat diamond. There is also a version of the design as a bracelet, which features an invisible turning clasp on the number five motif that turns to unlock, as that other house icon, the 2.55 handbag, does.
The May 2025 'Sonder' issue of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands.
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Vogue Singapore
5 days ago
- Vogue Singapore
Jemimah Wei on building a writing life
Does the great Singapore novel exist? If you ask Jemimah Wei, the answer is that it doesn't matter. 'I don't believe that there has to be one defining Singaporean novel,' she says. 'That type of thinking is competitive and not generative. It leaves no space for anyone else. It also reflects a Western obsession with hierarchy and power that I don't believe we need to subscribe to. I think we can afford to not only open the door, but to hold it open.' Wei has been careful to reiterate that her debut novel is a Singaporean story—not the Singaporean story. An intertwining tale of two sisters and their unconventional bond , The Original Daughter traverses time and space. Yet, it remains viscerally rooted to its core material: the poignant, everyday textures of life in working-class Singapore. Its characters are palpably real—as easy to root for as they are to rail against. A decade in the making, it's a novel cut straight from Wei's soul. A breathtaking literary debut, the release has already racked up a string of accolades, from being named a National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 honoree to a Good Morning America Book Club pick. Chanel jacket, necklace and shoes; top and skirt, stylist's own. Lenne Chai At the time of our conversation, it is barely a week from the book's official launch on 6 May. How does this moment feel for Wei? 'The most accurate way I can describe it is the feeling is too big to step into. It might be a feeling that I haven't had yet. There isn't one word to describe it.' On launch day, Wei go on to do a reading at Yu & Me Books, the first fully Asian American-owned bookstore in New York City, followed by a fireside chat where she shared more about her journey as a first-time author. The latter was hosted by none other than acclaimed writer (and one of Wei's literary heroes) Roxane Gay, who also wrote the blurb for Wei's novel. 'A lot of my friends from Singapore flew in for this. They've been hearing about this book for such a long time and they're all excited to celebrate,' Wei says gratefully. 'It almost feels like a wedding.' Wei may have put the polish on The Original Daughter in the US, but the novel first took root in the depths of her mind as a young adult living in Singapore—sprouting from her concerns about the future. This is plain to see in Wei's prose—from her portrayal of the mind-numbing pressures of Singapore's education system to her reflections on the premature class-consciousness we develop under the looming idea of meritocracy. Even when sweetened with a welcome dose of nostalgia, her writing feels unmistakably live. 'I knew that I had to try and become the writer that the book needed me to be.' 'I wanted the book to be true to a specific experience in Singapore. One of the big concerns throughout my adolescence was witnessing boundaries of class and how they could solidify or become porous,' Wei muses. 'As a society, how do we account for people who fall between the cracks?' 'A big part of the book deals with the stress of being in the Singaporean education system, which is quite difficult to write because studying is boring to read about. If you think about the external visual of studying—you're struggling at your desk, then going to sleep, waking up, maybe crying, then going to school—it's not very interesting, yet it's important to represent accurately on the page. So a lot of the challenge, craft-wise, was to motivate those scenes in a way that would keep the reader interested.' The reason why the novel took nearly 10 years to complete, then, was Wei's innate desire to push her writing to a higher level. 'I started writing the book in my early 20s, when I wasn't in control of my craft the way I am now. So even though the skeleton of the book did not change—the big things that happen in it were always going to happen—I knew that I had to try and become the writer that the book needed me to be.' Chanel jacket; top and pants, stylist's own. Lenne Chai Wei's obsession with the art form of writing has long been on simmer. Millennials in Singapore might recognise her from her past life as a host on digital platforms like Clicknetwork and E!. As one of the country's earliest online breakout stars, it might have been news to her audience that, alongside her glamorous media job, she spent every spare hour writing. 'There's no other way to say it, those days I used to feel demented,' she laughs. 'I would wake up at 5.30am to go into the co-working space where I was renting a desk, and write for three hours before starting my freelance media work.' A turning point came during a 10-week creative writing masterclass taught by Malaysian writer Tash Aw, which Wei describes as a light bulb moment. 'It was the first time I had seen someone from our region successfully be a working writer. Tash had been on the Man Booker Prize long list twice. It made me realise—maybe this was actually possible.' This sparked a deep contemplation on what it would mean to build a life devoted to writing. 'When you're spending time in a room with writers, writing becomes a muscle. My growth during those 10 weeks felt exponentially greater than anything I had experienced before,' she says. Two years later, Wei pulled the trigger on her commitment to the writing life by moving to New York City to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at Columbia University. At the end of her MFA came another life-changing moment: she received the Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University—one of the most prestigious writing residency positions in the US. The most magical thing about this, in Wei's eyes, was that they were essentially hiring her to write full time for two years. 'That's the beautiful thing about writing—you write to understand.' 'When I was living in Singapore as a freelancer, planning my schedule around my writing was difficult because I never had foresight into what the next month would look like. My time was dictated by the opportunities that came my way but also the things I say yes to. So even if I wanted to set aside time to write, would I be able to say no to a job, which would pay the bills, to stare at my manuscript instead?' The Stegner, Wei reveals, was the first time in her career she knew that she had a reliable source of income for two years to come. 'It created this psychological safety for me that made it possible to take The Original Daughter past the finish line.' I ask what it was like writing something so intimately tied to her hometown while being so far from home. Did her imagined audience for the book change? It was quite the opposite, Wei attests. 'Going farther from Singapore solidified my vision that this novel had to be read by a Singaporean audience. I remember thinking to myself that even if the whole world loved it, I would still be heartbroken if people at home were like, 'This sounds like she's writing to an American audience, right?'' This manifested in Wei's writing through a deliberate pull back on explaining her local references. 'During my MFA, I read so many books written by American authors filled with references that I didn't know prior. It didn't reduce my enjoyment of those books. I felt the need to do the same for The Original Daughter ,' she says. 'Of course, it is helpful for the reader if you scaffold their understanding a little bit because, at the end of the day, your job is to keep the reader engaged. So I would meet the reader at a certain point, and if they don't go beyond that to make a leap of understanding, I'm not going to spoon-feed. I don't think it's that difficult to guess what a void deck is—it's literally in the name,' she adds with a chuckle. So, I ask half-jokingly, when can we expect her next book and what will it look like? 'I don't think that I have it in me to write a book that's not about Singapore in some way,' she says. 'Even if I set a book in a galaxy far, far away, Singaporean sensibilities and considerations will still bleed into it in some form. 'One of the things I've been thinking about recently is what it means to live in community with each other and go through a big crisis. I've also always been concerned with the idea of freedom and agency. I don't mean it in the sense of 'Yes, freedom is great and we should all move towards it'. What does individual freedom mean? What agency do we have over our personhoods while living in society? 'That's the beautiful thing about writing—you write to understand. Writing serves a testing realm for certain questions, which then becomes a controlled environment where these questions can be explored.' She breaks herself out of reverie with a wave of her arm and a chuckle. 'But hopefully, the next book will not take nine years. I think the first one has taught me a thing or two.' Welcome to Vogue Dialogues, a new series by Vogue Singapore in which we spotlight key writers, poets and literary voices driving change for good through groundbreaking work. Vogue Dialogues is presented with the support of Chanel. A long-standing patron of arts and culture around the globe, Chanel has deep roots in the literary world, led by key initiatives like The Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon which brings together writers to discuss important themes like female empowerment. With their support of Vogue Dialogues, Chanel joins Vogue Singapore in celebrating our local and regional literary scene, as well as amplifying the voices of Asian and female writers all around the world. Associate lifestyle editor Chandreyee Ray Director of photography Lenne Chai Gaffer Timothy Lim Sound Jenn Hui Chia Camera assistant Kinleung Lau Post-production AMOK Production Producer David Bay Styling Nicholas See Hair Winnie Wong Make-up Victoria Hwang The June issue of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands now.
Vogue Singapore
28-05-2025
- Vogue Singapore
The best celebrity beauty from this month
We've seen the beauty realm evolve in a multitude of ways over the past decade. Long gone are the days when celebrity beauty ops would be dedicated solely to the red carpet with techniques used often obscured from the public eye. We've fast moved on to an aspirational age of social media: how-to tutorials by the professional artists themselves, established content creators sharing their own cosmetic hacks and even full-face routines by some of the biggest A-listers. And we've all emerged the better for it. It's undeniable—the likes of Instagram and TikTok have given us all a space for unabashed self-expression. And for some, an artfully made-up mien or a customised change of talons are the perfect canvases to do so. Pop culture has had significant influence in the sphere. Experimentation is abound, with novice creators and popular personalities alike attempting to ace a make-up look that is all the rage or share a thematic one-off look for others to recreate. Then begs the question: how do we sieve out the best of all? Make-up trends surely begin somewhere, and learning from our seasoned celebrities is never a bad place to start if you're feeling overwhelmed. Vogue Singapore might be of help to you on that front—with our monthly curation of captivating beauty moments, courtesy of our favourite faces from Hollywood, the K-pop scene and more, just for that fresh jazz of inspiration. May presented no shortage of beauty moments to marvel at. Celebrity glamour was dialled up to full volume, courtesy of the Met Gala and Cannes Film Festival both taking place this month. At the Met, glossy lips and intricate hair details reigned supreme, as seen on the likes of Doechii, Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya. Following that, it was all about fresh radiance as celebrities decamped to Europe for spring, from Bella Hadid's newly debuted blonde locks at Cannes, to the polished updos seen on Lupita Nyong'o and Margaret Qualley at Chanel's Cruise 2025/26 show on Lake Como. Inspiration awaits—scroll down to take in the best celebrity beauty looks from May 2025. @bellahadid 1 / 14 Bella Hadid Did we expect anything less than a complete bombshell turnout at Cannes from Bella Hadid? No—but the model still managed to surprise by stepping out with freshly dyed blonde locks. A bronzed base complements her new honey tones. Getty 2 / 14 Lupita Nyong'o Newly minted Chanel ambassador Lupita is the picture of vibrancy at the brand's cruise show on Lake Como, Italy. The effect comes courtesy of her berry-pink eyelids and pout, not to mention her delicately embellished updo. @saythename_17 3 / 14 Hoshi of Seventeen They're officially back—ahead of their new album Happy Burstday 's release, Seventeen dropped a series of arresting teaser photos featuring their members. Here, Hoshi stands out with ice-hued hair and matching inner eye corners, finished off with a dusting of blush across the nose bridge. Getty 4 / 14 Alex Consani Coordinating with the crystals encrusting her Swarovski gown—18,400 of them, no less—was Alex Consani's embellished peepers at the Met Gala. Below her signature bleached brows, a string of crystals neatly frames her kohl-lined cat eye. @imaanhammam 5 / 14 Imaan Hammam There's nothing like a blowout to channel vintage glamour—and model Imaan Hammam got the brief. Replete with a chocolate brown shade by her hair stylist Hos Hounkpatin, it was a look completed by deep bronzer and glossy, lined lips. @sydney_sweeney 6 / 14 Sydney Sweeney The Met Gala was a showcase for intricate hair details, and Sydney Sweeney nailed the trend with her artfully plastered curls. Hyper-long lashes and a jet black smokey eye add instant drama. @makeupbychelseax 7 / 14 Doechii Blink and you'll miss it. It was all about subtle touches for Doechi's Met Gala glam, from a subtly embossed Louis Vuitton logo atop her cheek to her boldly lined pout. @zoeydeutch 8 / 14 Zoey Deutch Zoey Deutch offers up a masterclass in Old Hollywood elegance at Cannes. Cropped curls, parted and secured in place, alongside her stunning red lip do the trick. Reach for her lip pencil, Chanel's Le Crayon Lèvres In 184 Rouge Intense, to emulate its va-va-voom effect. @ninapark 9 / 14 Hoyeon Jung It's not hard to cast a radiant impression when you're Hoyeon Jung. For Louis Vuitton's recent Cruise show, make-up artist Nina Park took to the actress and model's mien with a warm palette, while hair stylist Hyungsun Ju tended to her casually chic mane. @ninapark 10 / 14 Laufey In a look that's as delicately sublime as any of her songs, Laufey sports subtle pearl-like accoutrements atop face-framing tendrils while attending the Gold Gala. @ 11 / 14 Seulgi of Red Velvet Matchy-matchy. Pair wine-coloured talons with a vivid crimson lip, a la Red Velvet's Seulgi, seen here in a teaser photo ahead of her newly released comeback with bandmate Irene. @ariana_greenblatt 12 / 14 Ariana Greenblatt Bobs have been all the rage as of late, and actress Ariana Greenblatt is yet another celebrity making the case for the chic cut. On the red carpet at Cannes, it's all about insouciant texture for her cropped locks, while sporting dusty rose shades across her lips and cheeks. @simoneashley 13 / 14 Simone Ashley Springtime in the South of France gives Simone Ashley the perfect excuse to channel her 'inner Swiss mountain girl dreams', with a classic beauty base and scarf-wrapped 'do. @tyronmachhausen 14 / 14 Margaret Qualley A charming updo never disappoints. While attending Chanel's Cruise show in Italy, Margaret Qualley's was marked out with thick tendrils falling to one side of her face. Bonus points for a glowing complexion, accentuated by Chanel's Les Beiges Healthy Golden Glow Powder in Éclat Du Soir.
Vogue Singapore
22-05-2025
- Vogue Singapore
Chanel N°5 jewellery offers a whiff of elegant, insouciant glamour
For many, the first whiff of Chanel N°5 is an introduction—even before a sense of the fancy flights of jewellery or haute couture—to a world of beauty, sophistication and elegance. The fragrance has a famous story, of course. Gabrielle Chanel, a believer in numerological superstition, used to hold her haute couture presentations on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year; when she created her first handbag, it was in the year 1955. And when it came to selecting the first fragrance for her maison, created by Ernest Beaux, she picked the fifth bottle and named it thus. So it's no surprise that the number five has tremendous significance at the house of Chanel. Considered a pinnacle of the maison's codes, the number embodies the success and power of a modern woman as Gabrielle Chanel envisioned her, a woman who she once said must be 'a part of what is to come'. Whether as liquid or gold and diamonds, Chanel has bottled the essence of glamour and sensuality. Eternal N°5 Diamond Line necklace in yellow gold with diamonds, price upon request; Eternal N°5 bangle in beige gold with diamonds, $15,250; and Extrait de N°5 ring in yellow gold with diamonds, $6,000 Courtesy of Chanel That spirit is suffused, naturally, in Collection N°5, a line of fine jewellery dedicated to this enduring symbol. As jewellery, Chanel has transformed the number five and its associated scent into precious creations in gold and diamonds. N°5 the perfume was revolutionary in its time for an abstracted and unique scent profile. Beaux, the nose behind it, sought painstakingly and unrelentingly for the finest ingredients to compose the parfum: the lushness of Grasse rose tinged with raspberry notes, the indolic richness of jasmine and voluptuousness of ylang-ylang that is sweet yet bright, and through it all modernist aldehydes that sparkle and blend the notes into an abstracted bouquet. The result is that N°5 is a scent you recognise as much by how it smells as the number that symbolises it. Eternal N°5 Diamond Line bracelet in white gold with diamonds, price upon request Courtesy of Chanel Eternal N°5 Diamond Line necklace in white gold with diamonds, price upon request Courtesy of Chanel This combination of sensuality and structure is expressed in Collection N°5 fine jewellery through several details. The lucky number is shaped and curved like ribbons of gold, adorned or cradled in its curve with diamonds that recall the sparkling character of the scent. Diamond-set drop motifs evoke the rich amber liquid of the perfume, almost as if applied with a dab on the skin. And the famous rectangular bottle of the perfume, with its octagonal stopper that recalls Place Vendôme, is reflected in bevelled and mirror-polished edges on the numeral. This year, the house of Chanel is introducing a new style to the collection. Dubbed the Eternal N°5 Diamond Line, these designs are marked by a string of round diamonds and feature the signature diamond-set five and drop motifs. There is a necklace which can be worn either on a short length or as a choker, offered in beige, yellow and white gold, and which is set with a GIA-certified 0.30-carat diamond. There is also a version of the design as a bracelet, which features an invisible turning clasp on the number five motif that turns to unlock, as that other house icon, the 2.55 handbag, does. The May 2025 'Sonder' issue of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands.
