Just What Summer Ordered: Zouzou by Hedi Slimane
The newest fragrance from Celine is sweet and not overpowering, inspired by 60s iconic women
There’s a sweetness and a gentleness that’s not overpowering. With Celine’s latest fragrance by Hedi Slimane. Over the past years Slimane has proven himself as more than just a fashion designer. He’s a well-rounded creative and his pursuits for all things olfactory is a nod to the 1960s youth culture.
Zouzou in a sleek rectangular bottle | Photo Credit: Hedi Slimane
Can we start with the bottle, please!
It’s square-ish and rectangular, it’s sleek, it’s oh-so Celine, and it’s perfect. When mine runs out it will always stay ensconced on my dresser because it’s a work of art in and of itself. Slimane was sure to have a bottle made in the tradition of French glassmaking, and it comes with a faceted black lacquered cap and the brand’s “Triomphe” logo on top. “It’s an aesthetic inherited from late 17th century classicism, whose distinctive minimalism imbues the bottle with the modernity of art deco: spare, taut lines, a touch of black lacquer and transparent glass whose workmanship and amber-gold reflections highlight the nuances of each perfume,” shares the brand in notes.
And the box includes touches of 17th century moldings, inspired by the woodwork paneling in Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, where the brand’s ateliers are located in Paris.
Zouzou
“I wished to create a perfume about utopic adolescence, capturing an ideal of eternal youth. The recklessness of the young French writer Françoise Sagan, the ingenu boyishness of Jean Seberg filmed by jean Luc Godard, the magnificent heroines of the velvet underground, together with the young women I was able to photograph for more than 20 years. I called my new perfume for Celine “Zouzou”, an affectionate and child-like nickname that appeared in the last century to describe a young woman with short hair.
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For those that follow Celine fragrances by Slimane, he has already created a slew of other scents, eleven to be exact. Starting his olfactory adventures in 2019, it was his motive to create scents that stay in line with the tradition of the “couturier parfumier.”
Young iconic women of the 60s in film and literature was Slimane’s main inspiration for Zouzou, particularly women with short a short haircut- “fresh faced, mischievous-looking heroines, delicate features, and a smiling pout” are the personalities that guided him as he created the scent. For the face of the campaign, it’s Esther Rose McGregor the daughter of actor Ewen McGregor.
It’s notes of benzoin, Tonka bean, patchouli, labdanum, vanilla, and musk all work in conjunction to create the sweetness of Zouzou. “As the notes unfold, the spirit of a Parisian teenage girl delicately materializes,” states the brand. Not too strong, not too sweet, it’s just perfect for women of any age.
You can find Zouzou at celine.com