01 AN EXCEPTIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN ART AND SUSTAINABLE COMMITMENT
Ever since it was founded in 1828, the history of Guerlain has been closely connected with the artists and artisans it has invited to fashion its most beautiful creations. In 2021, it is the Bee Bottle that the young couturier Kévin Germanier adorns with an ornament as radiant as it is radically modern, both by its futuristic beauty and its eco-responsible creative process. A spectacular match between Guerlain’s heritage, contemporary luxury and eco-responsible upcycling, that confirms the House’s commitment both to the arts and to sustainable development.
02 CREATOR OF A NEW FASHION BORN OF UPCYLING
In line with its commitment to young creators and sustainable development, Guerlain was naturally drawn to the couturier, whose meteoric rise took the fashion world by storm. Winner of the 2015 Redress Design Award and finalist for the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2019, this ethical designer has breathed new life into contemporary fashion by turning sustainable trends into incredibly desirable creations. In 2018, he founded his eponymous brand, renowned for its dazzling dresses – fireworks of pearls, sequins, and crystals made from upcycled fabrics and materials. The signature of the young designer is the upcycling of textile waste slated for destruction, of glass pearls that are buried because they cannot be burned… A novel process that feeds his inspiration and allows him to reinvent forgotten treasures, since his findings are the starting point for his designs.
03 A CUTTING-EDGE TECHNIQUE
Over the years, Kévin Germanier has invented methods that allow him to work with the same exacting standards, respect for the garment and quality as more traditional couture houses. For instance, he has devised a cutting-edge technique for embroidering silicon that gives a new, even more sparkling life to upcycled Swarovski crystals from discontinued collections.
04 AN HAUTE COUTURE ORNAMENT
In Kévin Germanier hands, the iconic one-liter Bee Bottle dresses up in a colorful, sparkling gown made of upcycled Swarovski crystals, imagined like an Haute Couture piece, for a very limited and numbered edition. A gown dripping with Swarovski crystals in a gradient of vibrant colors – raspberry pink, powder pink, lavender and green... Each one of the 11 pieces is entirely hand-crafted according to a highly technical process which is complicated by the fact that the designer must create the illusion of a very spontaneous color gradient. Once the Bee Bottles are dressed up in their glittering gowns, they are entrusted to the famous “Dames de Table” of the Guerlain Ateliers who keep the heritage of Haute Perfumery alive.
05 FONDS DE CUVE INSPIRATION
At its heart, this reinterpretation of the Bee Bottle holds La Cuvée Secrète, inspired by the earliest eco-friendly action in perfumery history: the ancestral tradition of recovering the remaining fragrance from the perfume vat, a cherished ritual at Guerlain, handed down from generation to generation. After maceration, fragrances leave their olfactory imprint in the vats that contained them. The “fonds de cuve” are obtained by rinsing out these vats with alcohol, then combining the fragrant liquids to create a new scent.
06 LA CUVÉE SECRÈTE
La Cuvée Secrète matches the joyful radiance of a Cologne with the unique, powerful sillage of a perfume. Bergamot, a signature of Guerlain perfumers for the past two hundred years, shimmers with hesperidic, floral, subtly peppery facets. The most refined of citrus fruits is made it even more luminous by bright lemon and sweet orange. Petitgrain wraps this citrusy palette with suave floral, green, and woody facets. Its aromatic tones introduce the third iconic note showcased by the fragrance: a beautiful, clean, fresh lavender whose sunny scent becomes powderier over the hours.
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