She stumbles over herself. Only she can hear the little rage rising inside her. She skirts the puddles and the swirl of people on her way to the subway. Still on the stairs, she reminds herself that it is what it is. Finding a seat, she takes a breath. Then she puts on her headphones. That way she is protected. At that moment, a delicate note of a fragrance wafts by, her mind identifying it in a flash. She looks around and glances at a young woman sitting opposite her. A sense of calm immediately spreads throughout her body, the memory of a scent coming to mind: a wild, beautiful neighbor, stood in the doorway in her Japanese robe, seeing her daughter off. That was her first encounter with this scent. The second was when she encountered it being worn by a fellow student she admired. Later, another memory of when she gave the fragrance to her boyfriend's mother, hoping it would change their relationship. Then, many years after her own mother's death, she found a piece of cloth in her diary, steeped in the fragrance as well. Losing herself in these memories, her thoughts become entangled. Suddenly a man taps her on the shoulder and they look at each other. He gives her a ticket with his phone number written on it. He smiles. And when he turns around, she realizes she was wrong about the young woman. The man with the scent disappears.
Chanel No. 5 for SLEEK 71 – POWER. Image Courtesy of Chanel.
Read the Studio Visit with Jeannine Platz here.