A First Look Inside Celine’s New Haute Parfumerie in Paris

When Celine revealed, in late August, that an Haute Parfumerie collectsion consisting of 11 fragrances conceived by Hedi Slimane was forthcoming, the details were elusive and teased out sparingly. There were names like Reptile, La Peau Nue (Bare Skin), Cologne Française and Nightclubbing; there were seductive black and white videos of the bottles, their thick fluted glass fetishized with cinematic light and shadow.

Today, nine of the 11 creations make their official debut within the first Celine Haute Parfumerie boutique at 390 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. Here, even more than in the two other Paris stores and the Madison Avenue location where the collectsion is also available to start, every design feature suggests how we are meant to perceive Celine as a scent experience: The gorgeously graphic, surprisingly tactile Grand Antique marble; the illuminated alabaster platforms that float in the windows; the “perfumer’s organ,” where rows of bottles appear to multiply from every mirrored angle; the floor-to-ceiling glass display cases for various new objects and accessories—all within a space not much larger than a high-end hotel suite.

Amidst this yin and yang of Parisian elegance and intellectual restraint, the bottles give off an amber-y whiskey, liquid honey glow. Rounding out the aforementioned fragrances are Parade, Dans Paris, Saint-German-Des-Près, Eau de Californie, and Black Tie, with Bois Dormant and Rimbaud arriving in 2020. They exist to be worn, of course; but they also exist as entry points into Slimane’s contemplative and sentimental relationship with scent. When at Dior Homme, he created the Private Collection of Maison Christian Dior perfumes. And over the years, he has apparently kept a journal filled with olfactive memories, accumulating references and inspirations in much the same way that he is compelled by photography. He worked with three perfumers who, at least for now, remain uncredited but as the accompanying text makes clear, were at the heart of translating “the reminiscences of a moment, a place or people dear to the couturier.” One sniff of Nightclubbing and the first words that came to mind were electric, seductive, heady. Hedi (the wordplay, irresistible) must have a good story for this one.

If both his men’s and women’s visions of Celine are currently taking shape as an interpretation of 1970s French style with its highly codified allusions to class, this unisex series takes a parallel path, reviving certain markers of French perfumery from the time. It should come as no shock that Slimane has a rather defined scent signature, but would you have guessed that it’s…powdery? Indeed, the root of iris, known as white orris butter, buttresses fragrances with an instinctively sophisticated character—"an enveloping patina,” as the text suggests. Along with tree moss and vanilla, it recurs in several of these scents, even when the profiles are seemingly different, as with the cleansing, woody vibe of Eau de Californie versus the boozy polish of Black Tie.

Naturally, the temptation upon standing in front of the counter is to inhale the entire range. Store assistants will likely suggest beginning with three, to avoid being overwhelmed by the intoxicatingly chic experience. And while the nose processes each singular harmony of notes, the eye will inevitably wander to the “Maison” items, which include playing cards, dominoes, dice, toiletry sets and lighter holders, housed in Triomphe monogram cases. As the holidays near, these would make for next-level gifts, as would any of the monogram leather or alligator cases sized for a single perfume or a selection of three or five. A silver gourmette chain can be engraved with a name (if not Celine) and draped around the bottle’s neck.

Like Slimane’s realization of new ready-to-wear stores punctuated with art pieces, the Haute Parfumerie environment leaves room for these, too. It holds a composition of wood blocks by Luisa Gardini; minimalist canvases by Camilla Reyman and Søren Sejr; and a glazed gunmetal twisting form by Rochelle Goldberg commissioned for the boutique. They are atypical, inspired, and just abstract enough—which, come to think of it, are the qualities that differentiate this collectsion from the comparable luxury series elsewhere. This “olfactory project” might just be Slimane’s most personal contribution to Celine yet.