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Bois Dormant, the latest addition to Celine’s Haute Parfumerie fragrance collection, offers an olfactive master class in the power of unlocking specific moments in time with just an inhale
In many ways, Hedi Slimane, the creative director of luxury French fashion house Celine, is an enigma. But there is one avenue through which it is possible to uncover fascinating insights into the designer’s multifaceted life: the brand’s Haute Parfumerie collection.
The starting point and the heart of all 11 perfumes in the collection are deeply linked to Slimane’s personal journey, with each scent distilling the essence of his memories and emotions about specific places, people or moments in time. Yet, even with such distinct starting points, the fragrances also embody a universal quality by evoking emotions that resonate with every individual.
Take, for instance, Bois Dormant. One of the latest additions to the Haute Parfumerie range, it offers a snapshot into the life of Slimane as a 19‐year‐old in London. Back then, he trawled the city for secondhand suits from Savile Row so that he could admire the flawless cuts of the famed tailors. It was one of his formative experiences that led him to eventually become a designer, and continues to inspire his tireless pursuit of sartorial elegance. On a broader scale, Bois Dormant evokes the timeless essence of what it feels like to be young and to pursue the style codes that speak to one’s identity.
The scent itself— powdery cedar and vetiver infused into a light cologne that is underpinned by bergamot and juniper—conjures the effortless elegance of a sleek double‐breasted blazer rendered in classic English flannel. Like one’s favourite outerwear, this fragrance leaves a comforting, warm sillage of iris butter that gives the perfume a sense of “dress” and “fit”, which, just like haute couture, demands a mastery of a craft that only the most accomplished perfumers can achieve.
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Above Celine Haute Parfumerie's latest fragrance Bois Dormant
Celine Haute Parfumerie's latest fragrance Bois Dormant
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Meanwhile, Rimbaud, another relatively new member of the Haute Parfumerie family that was launched last year, gives a peek into Slimane the photographer. Meant to be a representation of the expressive portrait photographs of young men and women that he has been taking over the past three decades or so— snapshots in which he, remarkably, manages to capture the very essence of their personalities—the scent is named after French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who fascinated Slimane and his friends during their youth with both his neo‐classical literature and his androgynous appearance.
Correspondingly, the perfume plays on the masculine and feminine duality with notes of lavender, whose aromatic freshness is traditionally used in men’s scents, and orris, the root from the iris, which is typically associated with feminine, powdery accents. The perfume also carries within itself broader themes many can connect with, such as the notion of self‐identity, the sense of youth as utopia and that fleeting, fragile suspension of time between one’s childhood and adulthood.
Rimbaud joins the existing ten perfumes in the Haute Parfumerie line‐up, all of them connected by a similar powdery olfactory imprint that offers the wearer the impression of draping a diaphanous veil over the skin.
Above Celine Haute Parfumerie's impressive curation of scents
Celine Haute Parfumerie's impressive curation of scents
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In keeping with the storied traditions of French glassmaking, the rectangular bottles, which are designed by Slimane, have a luxurious weight when held and are themselves replete with symbolism. The spare lines of the bottle, the transparent glass that serves to highlight the rich amber nuances of the precious elixirs, and the touch of black lacquer on the cap pay homage to late 17th‐century classicism with a touch of art deco. The maison’s iconic Triomphe emblem, which was chosen by founder Céline Vipiana when she saw her split initial C designed in the links of the Arc de Triomphe, is engraved on the top of the cap to eternally link haute parfumerie to the house.
Carrying within them Slimane’s stylistic codes, such as androgynous design, and mirroring his constant challenging of the traditional societal categories of gender when it comes to dressing, the perfumes are not categorically for men or women; rather, individuals are welcome to explore them all equally. More than just a collection of scents, the Haute Parfumerie range is an invitation to go on an exploration of self while embarking on an olfactory adventure, to freely delve deeper into previously buried memories and emotions without ever feeling boxed in.
Celine
01-05/06 Ngee Ann City
tel: 6736 0511
B1-29/30 and B2-27/28
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
tel: 6225 4705
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Credits
Photography: DYLAN QUEK
Styling: ADRIEL CHIUN
Photography Assistant: JAYDEN YEO
