This January, Guerlain unveiled a collaboration with Maison Matisse, founded by one of Henri Matisse’s great grandson, Jean-Matthieu Matisse. This collaboration celebrates the “art of happiness” for which the artist is known for. Often labelled as a Fauvist, Matisse was a pioneer in his treatment of the relationship between color and line, flattening and collapsing the plan. His work was critical in shaping modern artistic movements and inspired countless artists through the twentieth century.
The Guerlain Maison was founded in 1828 and boasts a rich history in perfume, delicately encapsulated in the iconic Bee Bottle. Referencing the Imperial symbol of the insect, the motif was etched on the flacon in 1853 by master glassmaker Pochet du Courval for the wedding of the Impress Eugénie to Napoléon III. It has since become a symbol of the Maison which is engaged for the preservation of bees through its Women for Bees commitment with the UNESCO.
While the Maison has historically found inspiration in art and craftsmanship, it has strengthened its ties with the art world since 2005 launching Guerlain Haute Parfumerie. The enterprises encompasses two layer, the first is its Exceptional Creations Series supporting contemporary creation and artisans by commissioning limited edition flacons. The second aspect is the L’Art et la Matière series, “a captivating fragrance laboratory where Guerlain perfumers find creative inspiration in the emotions sparked by works of art” according to parent house LVMH.
The delicate and complex associations of fragrances created by the house elevate perfume to the rank of art. Jean-Matthieu Matisse, founder of Maison Matisse, notes: “My great-grandfather’s works are very multi-sensory, his was a world full of plants and flowers and they became recurring motifs in his work. There are thus a myriad compelling connections between his work and the artistry of Guerlain perfume. That’s why we were delighted to embark on this collaboration, especially since we share values, exacting standards, a respect for precision and a love of color.”
The collaboration was inspired by two artworks by the artist and include a customized limited edition perfume bottle and an entirely new fragrance addition to the L’Art et la Matière line. The Bee Bottle was redecorated to celebrate its 170th anniversary, and features elements from La Musique painting realized in 1939. The original painting is currently held at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum in New York. Each fourteen flacon of the limited edition has been hand painted by artist Astrid de Chaillé, acclaimed for her restoration work at le Château de Versailles, and is priced at $17,000, making them legitimate pieces of art.
Couleur Bonheur, the scent inside the bottle is rich and sunny, like the palette of the artist, it is fruity, slightly saturated and energetic, celebrating the intersection of the arts and the multiplicity of media it was inspired from. The second scent was created for the collaboration and is called Jasmine Bonheur, referencing the white florals awaken by bright apricot and colorful iris. It was inspired by Les Milles et Une Nuits (1951) and its clash of bold colors. It embodies the progression of the eye through the canvas through the different fragrant notes interacting together, underlying the similarities in the lingering stimulation of the different senses.
Last year, the house partnered with the Yves Klein Foundation to celebrate the 110th anniversary of its Heure Bleue scent, imagining a bottle entirely covered in International Klein Blue, patented in 1960 by the French artist. These collaborations allow the Maison to put forward and add to their rich patrimony while offering products at the intersection of artworks and mass production. The luxury industry has been dramatically transformed by the industrialization of processes, taking away from most of the craftsmanship.
These collaborations and engagements allow the Maison to preserve a sense of uniqueness and craftsmanship while promoting contemporary creation and the arts, while promoting the invaluable luxury of a master crafted perfume. Like most perfume makers, Guerlain sells mass-produced scents at the international scale and participates in the democratization of the way people smell. L’Art et la Matière offers a unique service, with fully customizable bottles that allows consumers to create a uniquely personal product, elevated to a piece of art in which customers have creative agency.
This process allows for the construction of an organic sense of belonging and loyalty in Guerlain’s clients who not only own a generic piece of the Maison, but intertwine their personal stories and sense of identity with the one of the Maison. Additionally, this strategy allow consumers to identify with the values and engagements of Guerlain and taps into emotions and a sense of self that is more powerful than broad impersonal marketing strategies.
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