Imagine stepping into an ethereal garden, where the scents of roses, violets and irises evoke a myriad of emotions, just like a scene out of an enchanting storybook. This is the multisensorial experience that The Alchemist’s Garden, Gucci’s new luxury collection of fragrances, summons up every time you take a whiff.
“The idea is that some primary scents of perfumery, like the essences of flowers and the green scent of some plants could be linked to atmospheres and memories,” Alessandro Michele, the Creative Director of Gucci, said in a statement.
“And it’s also linked to the idea that a perfume, in an alchemical way, brings you back to a different place through its scent,” he added. Inspired by the science of alchemy, the collection features seven eaux de parfums, four oils, three acque profumate (scented water), and a candle.
Spanish perfumer Alberto Morillas teamed up with Alessandro for the fragrances that mix extracts from plants and flowers with modern molecules. Every fragrance comprises one hero ingredient, such as oud, amber, violet, iris, mimosa, rose and woods, with each telling a different story of a place, moment, season or memory.
You can layer the fragrances to create your own signature scent, as Alberto explains, “Personalize your beloved scent with an oil or a floral water to build a unique sillage. Each oil or floral water of the collection can be layered with a eau de parfum. Just play with the scent to find your favorite, as an alchemist would work to find the gold formula.”
The bottles’ design is evocative of those found on the wooden shelves of a vintage apothecary. Replete with stoppers, the eau de parfum glass bottles are adorned with gold lettering and animal symbols. All the bottles in this collection are white in color, except for the perfumes ‘The Voice of the Snake’ and ‘A Song for the Rose’, the latter of which is reminiscent of a perfume bottle Alessandro once saw in his mother’s bathroom.
The three acque profumate are done in lacquered glass, embellished with Gucci’s signature pink rose print. The four oils are in sage green-hued lacquered glass bottles and reveal touche oreille, a glass-pipette-style applicator. The ‘Virgin Violet’ scented candle sits in an ornate white porcelain jar, decorated with real gold.
Of their creative collaboration, Alessandro noted, “It was fun to work like old perfumery experts and to tell the story of atmospheres, spells, and the idea that a perfume can transport you to a certain time, which sometimes is a struggle to remember.” We’re certainly nostalgic, are you?
