Back in 1947, Cristóbal Balenciaga released the House’s first-ever perfume, named Le Dix, in an elegant flacon, featuring a glass globular cap and hand-tied ribbon. Today, almost eighty years later, and after a fifteen-year long research process by the House’s archivists, Balenciaga rebirths the icon and accompanies it with nine other perfumes to release a complete collection that create an olfactory map redefining the House’s DNA.
From lighter to denser, the ten perfumes deepen along a gradually intensifying spectrum, a reflection of the House’s wide spectrum and rich identity. It starts with No Comment, fusing “a rough-cut, resinous woody note with the pine-needle freshness of Spanish cypress oil,” and ends with Incense Perfumum, “a time-aged fragrance” that channels sacred perfumery through “a trio of transcendental incense oils, with cedarwood and Spanish labdanum resin.”
In between we find Le Dix, the one that started it all, which means ‘the 10’ in French; Getaria, named after the birthplace of Cristóbal Balenciaga in the Basque Country, made of salty citrus, pink pepper, and overheated, crystallised seaweed absolute; or 100%, a maximal, floral perfume “built on a lavish cor of Rosa Damascena essences.” The collection is completed with other names like Twenty Four Seven, To Be Confirmed, Muscara, Extra, and Cristóbal, which express, in the House’s own words, “a bold clash between the mastery of French parfumerie and daring innovation.”
British artist Katerina Jebb, known for her practice closer to archival work than fashion photography, has lensed the campaign. Employing a high-resolution scanning machine to document the flacons set against Balenciaga’s signature industrial gray, Jebb has captured the beauty of the packaging, the perfumes, and key ingredients.
The perfumes are already available online as well as selected stores, including the House’s historic address 10 avenue George V in Paris.
