I already covered one of Guerlain’s Exceptional Creation last year when the Maison collaborated with Maison Matisse on an enchanting bee bottle. While they are staying relatively discreet concerning their artistic collaborations, they ongoingly release new pieces. As I was browsing around the Dubai mall, I stumbled into one of Guerlain’s latest creation the celebrate Eid, the end of the Ramadan.
While the piece, the bee bottle by Baqué Molinié Perle Imperiale, is available globally, its distinctively Middle Eastern ornament appeals to this very market. More than a strategy of cultural expansion aiming at elevating the status of Guerlain’s perfume, the collaboration is an occasion to expand into the Middle Eastern market by addressing their visual language.
The Métier d’Art bottle fuses French tradition and Arab architectural heritage thanks to the savoir-faire of the Guerlain Ateliers and the Haute-Couture embroidery atelier Baqué Molinié. The bee bottle was inspired by the Colonne Vendôme, a tribute to Napoléon the 1st’s victory at Austerlitz. Its distinctive dome has given the bee bottle its unique shape which was chosen as the point of conversation between East and West.
As a signature element of Arab architecture, the dome of the bottle was adorned “with a truly refined masterpiece, an entirely hand-embroidered adornment of mother-of-pearl beads and moonstones of dazzling white”. More specifically, the Parisian atelier was inspired by the aerial architecture of the cupola of the Alhambra, symbol of Andalusian architecture itself blending European and Arab references.
Its architectural style is considered a unique combination of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish elements. It is known as Nasrid art, which is characterized by rich ornamentation, geometry, patterns, and bright colors, visible on the bee bottle ornament. Horseshoe arches, vaults, domes, columns, and geometric decorations are common elements in Islamic architecture and can be found throughout the Alhambra and are reminiscent of the sculpted pages of a Persian poem.
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Those designs were recreated with “Mother-of-pearl and glass beads, chains of faceted gilt beads, moonstone cabochons and white imitation mother-of-pearl sequins intertwined harmoniously on silk organza collars. The elegant motifs, embroidered with a needle and gloving thread, are reminiscent of honeycomb-shaped embedded prisms, inspired by the famous muqarnas ceilings.”
The choice of material is also carefully thought through : the pearl bears strong symbolism in the Middle East, having a place in ancient legends and lyric poems as a metaphor for the sublime and the priceless, bearing qualities of purity, flawless beauty, wisdom and femininity. Coming from the Persian Gulf, the pearl inspires luxury, prosperity, and nobility.
Housed in this magnificent case, is a perfume equally beautiful and evocative. Perle Impériale layers bergamot, a heart of fig and a trail of woody sandalwood often associated with the East, enhanced by notes of myrrh and leather. A bridge between East and West, this is exactly what the Perle Impériale Bee Bottle is about. By including Arab culture into their story-telling, Guerlain is creating a relationship with its Middle Eastern clientele and expands the reach of the brand beyond Western culture.
mabou 