Chanel No 5 Drone Light Show in Santa Monica

Published on December 9, 2021

500 lighted drones zoomed over Santa Monica Beach on December 8 &9 creating displays for a Chanel No 5 video production.

When walking down the beach on the evenings of December 8 & 9, 2021, you may have heard the high-pitched whirring of over 2,000 tiny propellers spinning overhead. All of the buzz was for Chanel No. 5, the famous French perfume, which is celebrating its 100th birthday.

Chanel No. 5 perfume was first introduced by French couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel in 1921. To garner attention for her new fragrance, Chanel hosted an elaborate promotional event attended by an elite group of French socialites. The guests dined at an elegant restaurant where Chanel surprised and delighted her guests by spraying them with new fragrance. The official launch place and date of Chanel No. 5 was in her Rue Cambon boutique in the fifth month of the year, on the fifth day of the month: 5 May 1921. She infused the shop’s dressing rooms with the scent, and she gave bottles to a select few of her high society friends. The success of Chanel No. 5 was immediate. Chanel’s friend Misia Sert exclaimed: “It was like a winning lottery ticket.”

Fast-forward 100 years (and a few months), and Los Angeles based design and marketing agency, Anchor Street Collective, launched 500 illuminated drones from the sandy beach in Santa Monica to create unique designs and patterns in the night sky over the Pacific. The drone light show was filmed for a production to be released at a later date celebrating the perfume brand’s 100 years. Although a far cry from socialites spending the evening being wowed by Coco Chanel, the flock of tiny flying light fixtures caught the eye of local photojournalist, @santamonicacloseup who posted this video to YouTube:

Wednesday and Thursday evenings drone show wasn’t the first time the skies over Santa Monica were lighted up for a big celebration. In May, Disney+ celebrated National Streaming Day with a coordinated display of lighted drones that outlined popular Disney characters and produced unique animations.

Just a reminder to all the drone hobbyists planning their next flights in Santa Monica, drone use is restricted over State Beaches, so be sure to file your flight plan with SMO, and remember that drones are never allowed over amusement park rides – fly right and fly safe!