Paris: Capital of Guerlain

Description

The house of Guerlain is an institution of Parisian life. Its clientele has included royalty, empresses, celebrities, writers, and artists, and it has been featured in novels, song lyrics, movies, and artistic creations, all while exemplifying Parisian savoir-faire and luxury. Their headquarters and laboratory on the rue de Rivoli in the heart of Paris feature a new scent laboratory and a rose garden, which roots the famous house to the city of light that it so perfectly captures in each bottle of perfume. Traveling across the history of Guerlain over two centuries, this book highlights the inextricable links between the house and the city of Paris, how Guerlain changed Parisian life with its cosmetics and perfumes and how it could have existed nowhere but Paris. Guerlain's creations, especially its perfumes, are seen in their historical and cultural context of the city and times, through a combination of interviews, images, and portraits of people and products which played a part in the house's history. The perfect book for lovers of fashion, of Parisian life and savoir-faire, of scents and beauty products, of history-anyone will find value and beauty in this celebration of Guerlain, the quintessential Parisian perfumer.

Laurence Benaim, a journalist and fashion writer, has written many books including Fashion and Versailles (Flammarion, 2018), Lancel: Parisian Maison since 1876 (2016), Women in Dior: Portraits of Elegance (Rizzoli, 2016), Dior: The New Look Revolution (Rizzoli, 2015), and a biography of Yves Saint-Laurent. She created the style supplement for the French newspaper Le Monde, and has contributed to Vogue and Marie-Claire. She is an editorial advisor for Le Figaro.

"While Paris: Capital of Guerlain impeccably traces two centuries of history, it ultimately demonstrates the house of Guerlain's unmatched ability to transform innovation into tradition through a uniquely seductive Parisian lens. And as one might expect from venerable publisher Flammarion, it's all quite beautifully and stylishly presented." -BLACKBOOKS "Valentine's Day book story: profiles the house of Guerlain, a French institution of fragrance that was influenced and shaped by Parisian life, savoir faire since it was founded in 1828 by Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain. Almost anyone who was, and is, famous, from royalty to empresses to celebrities and performing artists, have been touched by a Guerlain parfum, a refined Parisian luxury!" -LUXURYFACTS.COM "The exquisitely rendered tome should be part of all fashion libraries as there is much to be learned and remembered from Benaiim's exhaustive research, which encompasses so much more than just the Guerlain family and their brand." -NEE YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS