September 11, 2024 |
The journey
One of my favourite journeys in the world is to take a train across France, heading south. The sense of possibility, the soothing pull of nature and the childish thrill of the coastline. Time to rest, reset and daydream. My essentials: a book, my camera, shades and a few beauty favourites. Always travelling light, the edit is everything. We board the special Chanel carriage, running for one day only, of the high-speed TGV rail service, heading to Biarritz for a night, then to Gaujacq, where Chanel farms the many varieties of camellia flower it uses in its skincare. The scene is gently set for the adventures ahead, as conversations flit from Paris nights to the AW24 collection, then to sailor-collared silhouettes, workwear-inspired denim, oversized tweed and dresses styled for adventure, belted and layered, deep pockets and high boots. A sense of ease and freedom pervades, akin to the adrenalised beginnings of a journey or the quiet grace of a plan taking shape.
Destination Biarritz
It’s my first time in Biarritz, a chic seaside resort with a starry past, and I am struck by the out-of-season quiet and charm. Slow-burn restrained elegance as opposed to Riviera fast-track seduction. The famed Hôtel du Palais sits haughtily atop the dunes, queen of the world. A wall of windows to the ocean boasts elongated Rothko blues in stark modernist contrast to the rococo pastels of the setting and the watchful eyes of historical, bejewelled, powdered princesses framed in gilt. I imagine Wes Anderson taking over with a cast of misfit heroes as I survey the terrace. But the beach is vast, deserted and calling me.
Biarritz is also where Coco Chanel relocated to Villa Larralde in 1915, setting up her first couture studio. It was ideally located on the popular promenade for wealthy runaways escaping WWI. Here, she pioneered a new sense of freedom – a revolutionary, masculine, practical twist on high style.
Gaujacq
About an hour and a half from Biarritz lies Gaujacq, protected by lush hills. The snow-topped Pyrenees are a glistening halo of ice in the distance. Beyond the romantic Renaissance-style castle walls, the village is now home to Chanel, which arrived in 1998 on a mission to explore and cultivate the properties of the camellia, Coco’s favourite flower and a potent symbol of both house and beauty portfolio.
Just as Chanel preserves and invests in the artisanal skills of the fabled métiers d’art ateliers, here historic horticultural expertise is protected and supported. I meet the fifth- generation botanist and international camellia expert (possibly the best job title in the world) Jean Thoby, whose garden at Gaujacq dazzles with 3,000 plants as well as 2,000 varieties of camellia (including seedlings from the mother plants ordered by Gabrielle Chanel more than a century ago). Legacy meets innovation as the village is now the base for both conservation and research. It’s like travelling both backwards and forwards in time.
The alchemic properties of the camellia infuse the beauty lines of the No.1 range (championing innovation and sustainability) and Hydra Beauty (the much-loved classic line), but the flower is also a strong code of the house, repeated and reinvented in print, jewellery and accessories. I trace the petals on a favourite pair of earrings, a brooch, an old strappy sundress. Destiny perhaps for the precious, delicate flower to evolve and inspire skincare as well as style – stories, house codes, overlapping and evolving.
Later I will visit the lab, white coat just so, in character. But first, the joy of exploring the idyllic gardens, sporting Chanel wellies no less. A true Cinderella moment – you shall go to the secret garden, much more adventurous than the ball… The pathway is one of awe and reverie as I learn about the power and diversity of the plant life as well as the magnitude of Chanel’s beauty and sustainability project. Air still heady from recent storms, the heat and light hit me to the core. I am enraptured, frequently dawdling alone to absorb the beauty rather than take notes and snaps. It’s everything I love about Chanel – the connections to nature and history, the uniquely intrepid spirit and vision.
In Gaujacq, flowers are picked in the early morning, then examined and studied by Thoby and his team, who continually add to research and the archives. “Nature is our most advanced laboratory,” says Nicola Fuzzati, director of innovation and development at Chanel, on the sustainable practice of the camellia farm.Thoby explains the key factors in play. “We are 54km from the ocean, 56km from the mountains, hot and humid with minimal wind and abundant springs. [These are] optimum camellia conditions akin to their native Japan and China.” He has an extraordinary affinity with the land and an encyclopaedic knowledge; I do momentarily imagine applying for a summer job as an apprentice, so seductive is the land and his charismatic passion. He hands me a camellia petal to eat, promising a calming influence, while explaining that all plants are equal: rare and endangered, precious fruits and unruly weeds. All play their part. A zero-waste principle, seasonality and sustainability inform all the decisions here.
This is agro-ecology: there are no pesticides or herbicides on an organic farm dedicated to cultivating camellias in a way that respects biodiversity and the unique balance of the region’s flora and fauna.
Château de Gaujacq is a base camp for the scientific investigation and intuitive imagining of the holistic beauty vision of Gabrielle Chanel. It connects fragrance, make-up and skincare in an integrative manifesto in pursuit of excellence. “The camellia is a tree that teaches us about perseverance. We cultivate it according to innovative and demanding agricultural practices, while continuing to respect biodiversity,” explains Philippe Grandry, Chanel’s head of farm operations in Gaujacq. “Everything is natural. In harmony with nature. We guide, we do not seek to control.”
Open-Sky Laboratory
The Open-Sky Laboratory at Gaujacq is part of an international network of future-thinking beauty hubs for Chanel (in Madagascar the specialisation is ‘vanilla planifolia’, in Costa Rica it’s green ‘coffea arabica’). It is located right on the farm, with its phytochemistry research grounded in the source environment. “Experimentation is central. We have reintroduced ancestral practices while continuing to rely on modern technological and scientific advancements,” says Fuzzatti, as a Wonka-esque distillation process whirrs away in the background. It was here that scientists discovered the revitalising properties of red camellia, specifically a variety of japonica named the ‘czar’, harnessed with great success in the No.1 de Chanel range.
If you, like me, have thought about floral extracts more in relation to perfume and skincare, think again. Botany
is key. My everyday staple – No.1 de Chanel Revitalizing Serum – delivers thanks to its concentrated red-camellia extract. Its nourishing properties are derived from the plant’s ability to renew and flourish amid harsh conditions. I’ve come to depend on the No.1 range, both at home and on the road. These products exploit almost all of the camellia plant, from petals and leaves to ground-up shell, while the line proudly uses recycled packaging and refillable pots.
We follow the process in the state-of-the-art lab nestled next door to the garden, led by Fuzzati, who expands on “nature’s potential to serve beauty” and, thus, its connections to the harvest. “Every part of the camellia is precious. The field of possibilities is wide open if you consider plants in their natural environment.”
For Chanel, style, beauty, tradition and innovation are forever entwined and my own personal rituals, in style and skincare, resonate more deeply when connected to the rhythms of nature. In Gaujacq, Chanel is creating and celebrating a futuristic and inclusive vision of beauty, with active ingredients born of elemental natural forces and the flower fairies of rural France. My experience in the lab was revelatory.
When moisturising I will be more mindful in future, with a greater respect for the complex alchemy, the experimentation and the exacting standards of sustainable practice. “We are opening a new, still rare form of dialogue between scientist and growers,” says Thoby with a smile. His optimism is infectious. The opportunity to conserve, create and collaborate is key to the Chanel beauty story and his archives and research will soon be collected and displayed in an on- site library to inspire and educate both the curious and the connoisseur.
Integrative beauty suggests a healthy state of mind and body, a way of presenting ourselves to the world in harmony with our environment. It’s a sensual presence, the principle of pleasure stripped of its artifice, that is in tune with intuition and connected to community. This is the modern Chanel allure. It’s psychological as well as physical, ambitious in its scope and vision, and is always inspired by the avant-garde innovations of Coco Chanel.
I’ll take the powerful antioxidants and the promise of an anti-ageing glow gladly, but one of the many miraculous properties of the camellia is that neither frost nor rain can destroy its leaves or petals. With the passing of time, the flower becomes even more beautiful and ever stronger. The camellia plants are watered only every other day to encourage deep roots, with such scarcity creating resilience and growth. Desire designed. Beyond beauty myths, the secret garden holds deep truths.
Laura’s Chanel Beauty Travel Edit
No.1 de Chanel Lip and Cheek Tint in Healthy Pink
La Crème Main No.1 de Chanel Red Camellia Revitalizing Serum-In-Mist
Hydra Beauty Micro Crème Yeux Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Noir
Issue 73 of 10 Magazine – RISING, RENEW, RENAISSANCE – is on newsstands September 18. Pre-order your copy here.
CHANEL BEAUTY: FLOWER POWER
Photographer VANINA SORRENTI
Fashion Editor SOPHIA NEOPHITOU
Text and Talent LAURA BAILEY
Make-up and skincare throughout by NINNI NUMMELA at Streeters using No.1 de CHANEL
Hair DIANA MOAR
Digital operator PHILIP BRADLEY
Lighting assistants SAM ROBBINS and DAMIAN FLACK
Fashion assistants GEORGIA EDWARDS and STARR EVANS
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
Special thanks to Tess Management Clothing and accessories throughout by CHANEL
