Aesop Releases Charlotte Perriand-Inspired Fragrance

In creating Rozu, perfumer Barnabé Fillion was inspired by the French modernist’s life, work and legacy

Rozu atop a Charlotte Perriand-designed table at her chalet in Meribel. Image by Julien T Hamon

Rozu, the latest fragrance from much-loved skincare brand Aesop, was created as a tribute to the life and work of eminent French modernist designer and architect Charlotte Perriand and the Japanese Wabara rose that was created in her name. Perriand’s egalitarian approach, which she honed working with the likes of Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier and Jean Prouvé, resonates with the brand’s design philosophy of striving for intelligent and sustainable design, from their context-specific retail spaces — some of which have become design destinations themselves — to the utilitarian amber bottles and minimalist branding. 

French perfumer Barnabé Fillion, who first collaborated with Aesop on the Marrakech Intense fragrance in 2012 and has since created the Hwyl fragrance and a series of room sprays, uses traditional craft-oriented methods that incorporate botanical ingredients and blend innovation and tradition. Fillion has long been inspired by Perriand, and so the decision to design a fragrance in homage to her was an intuitive one. During the process of creating Rozu, he visited the designer’s legendary Paris apartment and worked with her daughter, architect Pernette Perriand-Barsac. 

The elder Perriand spent a period of time working in Japan and fell in love with Japanese design, materials and techniques, and Rozu bears strong reference to this influence. Her 522 Tokyo chaise longue, arguably one of the pieces most representative of this period, features in some store displays in Asia, alongside Ikebana-inspired floral arrangements. The fragrance itself is designed to evoke both a sense of place and Perriand’s life and legacy, with floral notes of rose and woody ylang-ylang, for example, reminiscent of the Wabara rose or the workshops of carpenters with whom she collaborated. According to Fillion, ‘the prevailing character — florals with elements of green citrus, all tempered by earthy, woody vetiver — calls upon the traditional men’s colognes she was known to favour. In its Japanese touch, it’s like a ghost; the trace left after a light incense has been burned.’

Text / Simone Schultz

Image by Julien T Hamon

Japanese Wabara rose. Image by Julien T Hamon

Barnabé Fillion. Image by Julien T Hamon

Perriand’s 522 Tokyo chaise longue in bamboo. Image by Julien T Hamon, copyright ACHP/ADAGP 2020

Perriand working in Japan in the 1940s. Image copyright ACHP/ADAGP 2020

Perriand working with Japanese craftsmen. Image copyright ACHP 2020