Abstraction Paris: fragrance millésimes inspired by wine aging

Article by Katie Nichol published in Luxe Packaging Insight on 07/18/2022.

New French fragrance brand Abstraction Paris debuted in May with a range of five fragrance duos. Starting September 2023, the brand will offer millésimes of its fragrances – production that has been set aside and stored, akin to how it is done in the wine industry.

At Abstraction Paris’ boutique in the 18th arrondissement, brand founder Sébastien Plan, formerly a perfumer at Sillages Paris, explains that starting in September 2023 with its 2022 vintage, Abstraction Paris will sell part of its production that has been set aside and stored. In the same manner that wines are aged, its formulas are held in a cellar so the perfume concentrate can mature like a fine wine.

The other part of its production has been commercialized as of this spring, since the brand launched in May with its range of five, EdP fragrance duos. Plan says all packaging is made in France in a bid to reduce its environmental footprint. The lacquered and screenprinted bottles are made using vintage molds from Waltersperger, adjusted for a 100ml format. They are adorned with a label (Darmon) and wax seal (Roze) and crowned with a varnished cap made of thermoformed resin (Technicaps). Consumers can choose a flacon in one of four colors as the scents are mixed in-store, then the label and wax seal applied by hand.

Abstraction Paris’ cellophane-free secondary packaging (Verpack) uses bulk-dyed paper and features a digitally printed logo. Inside, the fragrance bottle rests on a cushion made from fabric offcuts from LVMH, stitched by workers in an ESAT, a structure that employs people with disabilities.