Henry Jacques: A decade of experience in "Les Classiques" collection
Apr 20, 2022
Henry Jacques distils decades of experience and centuries of know-how into its Les Classiques collection
The power of perfume cannot be underestimated. It was the ability to create new memories and reawaken lost emotions that first inspired world traveller Henry Cremona to establish a bespoke fragrance atelier, working in the shadows to satisfy the wishes of his discerning clientele, and later compile a collection of timeless yet avant-garde fragrances accessible to all.
“Pure perfume and the rituals around it, so often praised in fine literature, have disappeared in a matter of decades. Too often it is reduced to a mere frill, quickly sprayed on, stripped of its peerage,” says the founder of haute parfumerie Henry Jacques. “Yet perfume is the element that can help reveal our highest selves. Perfume lingers on when all other artifice crumbles away.”
This belief in the lasting imprint of a fine perfume provides the foundation for Les Classiques, 50 fragrances that form a gateway to the Henry Jacques universe. From the floral/woody Ambrose and the chypre/ambery N° 11 de Sacha to the woody/oriental Xantor, each creation draws on the immense olfactory work accomplished since the founding of the house.
The purity of these Essences brings back an elegant gesture forgotten for too long – one of the foundations of Henry Jacques’ identity – that of applying perfume directly to the skin. It also emphasises the art of living, of making time for one’s self and enjoying the time to find one’s self.
Les Classiques could not have been conceived without experience and knowledge painstakingly transmitted over several generations. This spirit is beautifully captured in the sleek crystal bottles dreamt up by artistic director Christophe Tollemer and the sophisticated array of the Henry Jacques Trilogy in the form of essences, mists and solids.
Whichever imprint one chooses, the beauty of these timeless perfumes will connect their wearers to the know-how of centuries, reignite the art of living and “leave a lasting imprint as companions of absence, mementos of the sublime”.
