When Gabrielle Chanel sang on the cabaret stages of Moulins at the turn of the 20th century, the audience called her Coco. Decades later and a continent away, Gracie Abrams was playing low-lit rooms and writing bedroom-pop demos.
The distance between Belle Époque France and the contemporary American music scene is significant, but the parallel between the two women is rooted in a similar independence of spirit. Both possess a preference for dark, cropped hair and an innate sense of personal style.
Chanel has now named the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter as the face of its latest fragrance, Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu.
Arriving in boutiques on August 19 to coincide with Gabrielle Chanel’s birth date, the release marks a continuation of the house’s signature ambery-woody profile. Formulated by in-house perfumer Olivier Polge, the scent blends notes of grapefruit and lychee with a heart of rose and jasmine, settled on a base of patchouli, vetiver, and vanilla. It will be available in 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfum.
Abrams, who officially joined Chanel as a house ambassador last year, steps into the campaign as an égérie with the same steady cadence that defines her discography. Having built her profile through the East Coast festival circuit and intimate songwriting, her approach relies on quiet precision rather than public spectacle. It is a demeanour that aligns neatly with a fragrance line historically anchored in self-determination.
“It’s unreal to be the new face of Coco Mademoiselle; I feel an immense sense of pride,” says Abrams. “I love that Coco is someone who leaves a mark everywhere she goes. Sometimes, I wish I could be more like her.”
That intention sits at the centre of the Coco Mademoiselle profile. First launched in 2001, the original formulation offered a lighter, spirited alternative to the house’s more traditional compositions. Crush Absolu shifts the weight slightly, offering a warmer, fuller finish designed to sit closer to the wearer.
Thomas du Pré de Saint Maur, head of global creative resources for Chanel Fragrance and Beauty, points to attitude rather than aesthetics as the primary link between the artist and the house.
“Gracie naturally embodies the spirit of Chanel. Like Gabrielle Chanel once did, she asserts herself without artifice, driven by a fierce sense of freedom and an instinctive elegance,” he says.
“There is that liveliness in her, that unfussy refinement, which recalls Coco’s modernity. It is less a matter of silhouette than of attitude: Gracie arrives where she is not expected, always in motion, charting her own path.”
Wanted
