Thursday 11 February 2016

The Imagery of MONSIEUR GUERLAIN

Fan-sites are nothing new, especially in the realm of perfume, but what is unusual is when one of them takes the trouble to create original artwork. This was one of the unique aspects of Monsieur Guerlain’s website, along with an unstinting appreciation and knowledge of the Guerlain brand. It was disappointing then when it became known that Guerlain had demanded the immediate closure of his Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo accounts on February 5th. The main website is currently dormant [all of his accounts are now active] so let’s take a moment to look back at some of the amazing images that Monsieur Guerlain has given us over the past few years.

It is not unusual to see fan-sites littered with pictures that perfume companies have created themselves, or else what at best can be described as pretty basic visuals, but what you got from Monsieur Guerlain were imaginative images that made this heritage brand's marketing directors look like interns. The image at the top of this blog was created for the launch of the new Habit Rouge Dress Code, created to celebrate the original fragrance's birthday, and wonderfully showed his love of both versions. My second choice has to be the explosive picture which accompanied the 2015 discontinuation of the beautiful Nahema.

When Thiery Wasser and Frederic Sacone began their remarkable project of recreating the lost Guerlain fragrances it was never envisaged that it would end up numbering fifty. The original set comprised twenty-five perfumes, and a select group of influential bloggers were invited to the Champs-Elysées to discover these initial recreations alongside Thierry himself. One of them was Monsieur Guerlain, and he was also asked to provide the artwork for the back of a sample set which was given to those lucky few who attended. This in itself makes the decision to turn against him all the more confusing.

The humorous side of Monsieur Guerlain's website was never more apparent than when the company launched La Petite Robe Noire Mon Petales in 2015. As an homage to this fourth edition Monsieur Guerlain created a visual which drew inspiration from the old “cut-out dress designer” sets. As well as being the most revealing of all his images, actually journey below the waistline, it also managed to capture perfectly the original concept of the La Petite Robe Noire series. Each fragrance was perceived as a different style of dress, and that meant that there was one, if not more, for every woman.

For me there is one picture above all others which stayed in my mind from the first moment I saw it, and that was “Blessed Are The Gentle”. When I was granted an interview with the illusive Monsieur Guerlain for "Stephan’s Six" back in December 2015 he told me the story of his first encounter with Guerlain's famous L’heure Bleue, and how it didn’t really fit with his then military environment. He persevered though and now it has become one of his staples. The image that he created, with the beautifully realised angelic wings, truly shows his skill at translating a passion for the brand into a picture.

I have no doubt that the blogger formerly known as Monsieur Guerlain will be back, and when he does return I’m sure that the news will be welcomed with open arms. In the meantime his interview for “Stephan’s Six” has now been extended with material that was cut from the original version, so enjoy finding out where his love of Guerlain really started.

2 comments:

  1. _Plot officially lost by powers that be. Bring Back Monsieur Guerlain.
    Nice piece Stephan.
    Portia xx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad that you enjoyed it.Let's hope he's back soon.

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