Dance, flowers, and perfume took center stage on Wednesday morning as press got a FIRST LOOK at the recently renovated fragrance floor at Saks that features ten new lifestyle boutiques, and a user-friendly fragrance bar. The day seemed to herald a shift in culture for Saks, summoning a more interactive and deeper exchange between customer and vendor. A range of venues are available that invite us to slow down and experience perfume. The floor is more spacious and brighter, and it lends itself to flow and discovery—a kind of slow perfumery movement.
As part of the celebration the fragrance bars and boutiques were adorned with flowers that were chosen based on recent perfumes or somehow significant to the brand; next to the flowers were descriptions explaining how the flower note is used in perfumery: White Hyacinth for Carven; Tuberose for by Kilian; Blue Iris for Le Labo. The Orchid, Orange Rose, Freesia, White Ranunculus, and on and on…
After a brief presentation we were treated to about twenty dancers from the American Ballet Theater School, who pirouetted about the space, spreading their sweetness and sillage—I’m sure they were wearing Penhaligon’s latest IRIS PRIMA. The fragrance bars and boutiques seem much lower, revealing bottles and sale reps that appear more accessible. Details that I never have noticed before were suddenly right in front of me, like Diptyque’s hearty glass hourglass diffuser, and by Kilian’s black tassels, inspired by Kilian Hennessy’s travel to India. Diptyque’s perfumes were presented on a kind of charming wooden lazy susan; it reminded me of a painter’s palette.
Hermes signature caleche ribbons and boite orange
Hermès presented white ceramic domes with fragrance names carved on top of each—CALECHE; 24 FAUBOURG; JOUR D’ HERMES. Pick one up and inhale, the entire line awaits you. Also close by are their ribbons; fragrance is meticulously applied with a roller ball on the ribbon, and then it is delicately tied on your wrist.
If you want bling, Bond No. 9 and Swarovski have united and if you like, will make your perfume bottle sparkle. This can be done in a matter of minutes, I was told.
The most radical addition is Le Labo’s boutique. Le Labo stands out at Saks, as it should, because there is really nothing else like it on the floor. I was able to have a few moments with Fabrice Penot, co- founder of Le Labo, and I told him that he had broken down the walls here, in terms of educating the consumer and without missing a beat Fabrice told me that actually Le Labo is trying to do much more. He described Le Labo's fragances as a unique opportunity for the Saks customer. Le Labo’s fragrances are hand-mixed in front of the customer; there is also a library of single notes on hand that can help guide when trying to find a fragrance. Once the fragrance is blended the bottle is dated, and your name is printed on the bottle. This is the crème de la crème in personalization. Fabrice added that the experience at Le Labo during the day could lead to conversation around the dinner table at night. “When has this happened before in retail?” he asked.
Fabrice’s statement about dining and conversation got me thinking about the intimacy of perfume; how it can enter someone’s psyche, and then rise-up into our daily life enough to make us want to sit down with our loved ones and talk about perfume. For one month @ Saks NYC Le Labo will be selling all eight City Exclusives -these are normally only available in the city that they are named for (NYC Tuberouse 40, SF Limette 37, Tokyo Gaiac 10, Paris Vanille 44, London Poivre 23, LA Musc 25, Chicago Baie Rose 26 and Dubai Cuir 28).
The power of fragrance is alive and well. The celebration continues all week long with all sorts of cool special perfumery events until October 5th. (For a list check out this link)
–Valerie Vitale, Contributing Editor