Paris, inspiration for perfumers. COSIMA DELAMARE FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
On this September Thursday evening, on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris's 1st arrondissement, a long, narrow boutique – reminiscent of those typically Parisian covered passageways – buzzed with excitement. The crowd had gathered to celebrate the launch of a new fragrance brand, Solférino. Created by Philippe Benacin, co-founder of Interparfums – which develops and distributes fragrances for Nina Ricci, Lacoste and Karl Lagerfeld – it marked the group's first in-house creation. The company's offices are located at 10 Rue de Solférino, the former headquarters of the Socialist Party in Paris' 7th arrondissement.
"I wanted to rekindle the link between high perfumery and the Parisian imagination," the entrepreneur said of this personal collection. The names of Solférino's 10 bottles read like short story titles that could have been written by Ernest Hemingway: Rêverie sur Seine, Paris Radieux, Coup de Foudre Quai Voltaire... Each is a miniature olfactory narrative that, in its own way, sketches a certain idea of Paris: free, bold and a little theatrical.
Long before Solférino, Guerlain already paved the way with Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), a bucolic interlude inspired by one of Paris's most romantic rose gardens. More recently, Zara, with its Paris Stories collection, also embraced the idea of a dreamlike Paris, imagining a fragrant stroll through Parc Montsouris, Place Dauphine or the Bois de Vincennes.
