Paris and Perfume Exhibition Greetings
 
Takasago Collection® Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition that looks back on the deep historical ties between Paris and perfumes. Paris is a special city for fragrance & flavor companies, and perfume has a special meaning for us. We are very pleased to present this exhibition as a tribute to these two special entities.
 
Our relationship with Paris can be traced back to 1910, when our founder, Tadaka Kainosho, traveled to Europe to study perfumery. He also visited Paris several times, most notably in 1913 to see the Coty factory, which was undergoing major development at the time. After establishing Takasago in 1920, we set up a Paris office in 1960, and at the end of the 1970s, we launched a company named TAKASAGO EUROPE PERFUMERY LABORATORY. It began its perfumery business in the late 1980s, and now supplies to the famous perfume brands.
 
Perfumes “from Paris” made a great leap forward from the late 19th century onward, and by the 20th century, they had spread around the world, making Paris the “capital of perfume”. In this exhibition, a variety of beautiful perfume bottles (flacons) were displayed according to the business form of each brand, so that visitors can enjoy the process that led to the current crop of perfume brands. We hope you will enjoy the beauty of the flacon design.
 
 
Satoshi Masumura
President
Takasago International Corporation
 

There is no specific term to classify "classic perfume bottles", however, the relatively classic shapes of perfume bottles (aka flacons) sold by perfume specialty stores such as Guerlain, Piver, Houbigant, and Coty from the late 19th to early 20th century are referred to herein for convenience. The flacon itself is characterized by its relatively simple form, elaborate label and lid, together with the Gellé Frères poster, it evokes the elegancy of good old Paris.

One of the most eye-catching pieces in the exhibition is a large bottle of Shalimar, designed by Laymond Guerlain for the 1925 Art Deco exhibition, it was intended for retail display.

Around 1890, a design style known as Art Nouveau, based on the graceful curves of plants and animals, became popular. Its influence extended to all fields of art, architecture, and crafts. Many works of so-called Japonisme were influenced by Japanese art.

Émile Gallé and the Dome brothers are the leading Art Nouveau artists in glass art. They designed many perfume bottles (aka flacons) along with vases, lamps, and other decorative objects. Gallé 's beautiful purple perfume bottles, in which the petals of magnolias are deformed into graceful curves, and the Dome brothers' works, in which flowers and landscapes are enclosed in the world of small perfume bottles, are valuable as works of art that are distinctly different from commercially available "perfume" containers.

Founded in 1774, Piver started out as a perfumer/perfume maker and achieved significant growth from 1930 onward. Before that time, perfumes were made by pharmacists, but since the late 19th century, perfume merchants have been at the center of the perfume business.

Coty, on the other hand, was founded in the 20th century and quickly became successful, thanks to the genius of François Coty's perfumery and his business acumen, including advertisements. Coty came into this industry just before the fashion designers' perfume brands took over the market.

One of the characteristics of flacons from this period is that the design of the lid is more elaborate than that of the bottle itself. This trend can also be seen in the next exhibit case, Guerlain.

Founded in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, Guerlain was also a perfumer/perfume maker who created many famous perfumes over five generations. Particularly, the third generation, Jacques Guerlain, left behind several masterpieces such as "Après L'Ondée (1906)", "L'heure bleue (1912)", "Mitsouko (1919)", "Shalimar (1925)", and " "Vol de Nuit (1933)", etc. 

In terms of the design of flacons, Guerlain worked with Lalique and Baccarat to create many masterpieces that have left their mark on the history of perfumes.

 Guerlain has its own traditions, such as the use of the same flacon for different perfumes, and the use of several elaborate lid designs, such as four-leaf clovers and heart shapes, as well as the use of a single perfume in several flacons.

Perfumes bearing the names of fashion designers and fashion brands, which are now commonplace, are actually not so old.

 It is said that Paul Poiret was the first fashion designer to create perfumes at a time when it was common for perfume merchants to produce perfumes. Poiret opened his own business in Paris in 1904 and was active in the fashion world until the early 1910s, but after World War I, he was considered outdated.

Charles Frederick Worth, an English designer who had become famous in Paris before Poiret, also began producing perfumes in the 1920s, though later than Poiret, and produced many flacon masterpieces coveted by collectors.
In addition to such flacon masterpieces, posters and promotional plates will also be on display at this exhibition.

The period during which Art Nouveau and Art Deco were popular (late 19th - early 20th centuries) is also known as the time when the boundary between works of art and decorative objects and crafts began to waver. 

There was a great deal of interaction among artists, craftsmen, and fashion designers, which also influenced perfume bottles. A good example is Salvador Dali's design of a perfume bottle for Schiaparelli, a fashion designer and rival of Coco Chanel, who had a flamboyant friendship with the artists.

On the other hand, the flacon of the perfume "1000" by Jean Patou, another designer, borrowed its design mainly from Chinese "snuff bottles" that were popular in the 18th century to hold snuff. 

Nina Ricci, who was born in Italy and began her career in Paris, is also an indispensable brand in the perfume world.

 Its first perfume was Coeur Joie in 1946, after World War II, with an impressive flacon by Marc Lalique in the shape of a heart hollowed out of the center of the bottle. The company continued to produce successful perfumes, including the famous L'Air du Temps (1948), Signoricci (1974), and Nina (original 1987), all of which were outstanding hits.

In addition, the flacon with the motif of an apple shape, which began with Fille d'Eve (1952), is still often used today in the Nina series of perfumes and other products, while rearranging the color and shape, and has succeeded in establishing the brand image.

Chanel No. 5 is probably the most famous perfume in the world.

 The famous perfumers Ernest Beaux and Gabrielle Chanel introduced this masterpiece in 1921, and it is a well-known classic. It is often regarded as the pioneer of the floral aldehydic family, with its bold use of aldehydes, but it is now known that a similar type had actually been created by Beaux before that.

On the other hand, Arpège, created by André Frès in 1927, is another successful floral aldehydic perfume. Fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin named the perfume after a musical term for her daughter, a musician. The harmonious and beautiful fragrance is said to have had a greater influence on later perfumers than No. 5, in fact.
 

Dior, which appeared in 1947 and reigned supreme in the world of post-World War II fashion, is a brand without equal in the world of perfumes, beginning with Miss Dior (1947), Diorisimo (1956) and Eau Sauvage (1966) by renowned perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, followed by Poison (1985), Fahrenheit (1988), and Dune (1991), each of which was considered masterpieces or ambitious creation of its time.

 It is no exaggeration to say that J'adore, launched in 1999, became a worldwide blockbuster and firmly established Dior's position in the perfume industry.

In recent years, as a core brand of the LVMH group, the company has been launching a number of perfumes, including modernized versions of past perfume masterpieces, lines derived from major perfumes called "flankers," and collection lines.

Yves Saint Laurent, who became Dior's chief designer after Christian Dior, and Hubert de Givenchy, who trained at the Schiaparelli’s Maison, belong to the generation after Dior.

They launched their respective couturier maisons at a time when it was common for fashion designers to produce perfumes.

For this reason, these two brands have produced as many best-selling perfumes as Dior, and although Givenchy seems to have focused on men's perfumes from a relatively early stage, such as Givenchy Gentleman (1974), they have also produced unforgettable masterpieces for women, such as Ysatis (1984), Amarige (1991), and L'Interdit (1957/2018). Saint Laurent, on the other hand, has also produced many popular perfumes that have generated a great deal of publicity, including Opium (1977), Paris (1983), and Baby Doll (1999).

Since around the 1970s, the fashion world became more globalized, with cities like Paris, New York, London, Milan, emerging as the centers of the fashion world.

Designers from around the world flocked to Paris, where many achieved significant success. Consequently, many emerging brands began launching perfumes through licensing agreements or other means. In doing so, they intended to differentiate themselves from existing major fashion houses, often introducing unconventional perfume bottle shapes alongside unique name and perfume scents. The most representative examples are Eau d'Issey (1992), which bears the name of a Japanese designer and has a beautiful conical shape, and Le Mâle (1995), which is torso-shaped, although Schiaparelli has a precedent for this.

Located northeast of the Tuileries Park in the heart of Paris, Place Vendôme is a chic square that differs from the glamorous Champs-Elysées.

In the center of the square is the Austerlitz Monument, topped by a statue of Napoleon, surrounded by luxury hotels, jewelry stores, high-end watch stores, and haute couture boutiques. It is one of the most gorgeous and luxurious corners of Paris.

In this “Paris et le parfum” exhibition, we have seen the emergence of the perfume merchant as it evolved from the pharmacy, followed by the emergence of fashion designers' brands and their great development. After that, jewelry stores, high-end shoe designers, luxury cigars, leather goods, watches, stationer, and sports car brands, and even celebrities have ventured into perfumery. As a finalé to the exhibition, here we showcase the perfumes of jewelry boutiques.
    
It is not so long ago that jeweler began offering perfumes.

It was only in the late 1980s and 1990s that new perfumes were actively launched. While brands like Hermès, also handling jewelry, had been producing perfumes early on, it is indeed curious that many jewelry boutiques that are second to none in terms of luxury, had not offered perfumes for a long time. 

Among jewelry boutiques, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels are enthusiastic about perfumes, while Boucheron, Chaumet, and Chopard seem to launch new products less frequently than fashion brands. Nevertheless, many of the flacons are glittering and beautiful, utilizing the typical designs of each jewelry item.
 

Automata Dolls

Automata were dolls of opportunity created mainly in France between the 18th and 19th centuries. They were dressed in the fashionable costumes of the time, and many artistic masterpieces were created in cooperation with outstanding doll makers.When wound by a spring, the doll moves a perfume bottle in her right hand and a handkerchief in her left hand to the sound of a music box, and makes a gesture of smelling the fragrance. The head of the doll is by Jumeau,This automata doll was made by the Lambert workshop and won a medal at the Paris Universal Exposition.

Mitsouko (Guerlain)
Diorissimo (Dior)
Paris (YSL)

Lift the domed glass lid,
Bring the inside of the lid up to your face 
and smell the fragrance.
Enjoy the fragrance.
 

Please take your time to look at the flacon in the lobby area, which also displays many of Lalique's works and other flacons, as well as beautiful photographs taken by Jumonji Bishin.

We are also conducting a survey, if you would like to participate. (Japanese version only)

※Those who were unable to complete the survey at the venue can submit it via the QR code below.

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