Scents of intellect: Malle opens second New York store

By Lucie Greene 11 : 06 : 2014 Frédéric Malle : Fragrance : Steven Holl

New York – Frédéric Malle is often regarded as the thinking luxurian’s fragrance-maker. A famous nose in his own right as well as founder of the eponymous perfume brand, he describes himself as a ‘publisher’ of scents by the world’s greatest fragrance-makers.

His perfumes often reference abstract concepts, artists and literary works. Examples include scents inspired by fashion designer Dries van Noten, the en passant chess move and novels such as Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady.

Now, Malle is seeking to highlight his brand’s intellectual prowess even further – this time connecting it to architecture. In the first of a series of planned stores by leading architects, Malle has opened a new boutique in New York’s Greenwich Avenue designed by architectural icon Steven Holl.

Mall described Holl as ‘one of the greatest architects of our era’ in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily. Key features in the Art Deco-style space include a wall of portraits of the perfumers Malle has worked with and three smelling chambers for customers to sample scents. There is also a small private garden, which can be booked for small personal gatherings. The style of the store evokes a 1920s boudoir and features a unique aluminium metallic sponge effect on the ceiling, combined with dark, sleek, walnut semi-circular cabinets.

Malle is one of many perfumers taking a more intellectual approach to fragrance-making and perfume retail in response to a rising connoisseurship among consumers. We explored this in our Scholarly Scents microtrend.