Curations: Henry Jacques artistic director Christophe Tollemer helps open the haute perfume maker’s doors to the public – and Hong Kong
- The acclaimed French architect designs bottles and cases for the luxury fragrance brand, in addition to its boutiques opened around the world in recent years
- Henry Jacques arrives in Hong Kong with its newest stand-alone boutique, scheduled to open in West Kowloon in February
When French luxury brand Parfums Henry Jacques decided to open up its exclusive world of bespoke fragrances to the public, it needed someone to help shape and present its new vision. Enter French architect and designer Christophe Tollemer, who as artistic director has created everything from bottles for new scent collections to stand-alone boutiques – including the parfumerie’s soon-to-open first shop in Hong Kong.
Tollemer is revered on the design scene for his transformative and technical projects, including high-elevation refurbishments of Aman Le Mélézin and Hôtel Les Airelles, two luxury ski retreats in the French Alps.
He is also the only French architect to convert palaces into hotels, such as La Bastide de Gordes, a medieval residence transformed into a grand heritage hotel overlooking a Provencal hilltop village. More recently, Tollemer worked on the royal grounds of Versailles to renovate historic buildings into Le Grand Contrôle, a lavish hotel decorated in 18th-century style.
He first developed his talent in woodworking, then encountered a mentor who introduced him to architecture early on in his career. Today, the architect-designer explores a variety of styles in his work, and continues to feed his appetite for new knowledge through reading and travel.
Tollemer was drawn to Henry Jacques through his long-standing friendship with the founding Cremona family. They asked him to step in as artistic director, tasked with designing the brand’s bottles, perfume cabinets, gift chests and boutiques. He worked closely with Anne-Lise Cremona – CEO of Henry Jacques and the daughter of founder and brand namesake Henry Cremona – to develop a signature design aesthetic for the parfumerie rooted in historic grandeur.
For the perfume bottles, Tollemer came up with a variety of concepts to complement the unique, nuanced and painstakingly crafted scents that Henry Jacques is known for. All of his designs are drawn by hand, with an emphasis on symmetry and balance. He also ensures that each bottle can catch the light to illuminate the essence of the perfume inside, no matter whether it’s a deep or light hue.
The hand-blown crystal bottles take a variety of shapes – from the sleek, minimalist vials of the Les Classiques de HJ collection to the playful yet intricate flacons of the Les Toupies line, which resemble toy spinning tops. For the Jewellery collection, Tollemer designed a series of bottles embedded with different precious stones and accented with gold lattice work to match the opulence of the couture scents.
As Henry Jacques moved into the world of retail, Tollemer worked to develop a shopping haven for the public that reflected the brand’s exclusive services and refined values. The brand’s first stand-alone boutique opened in late 2017 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It was conceived to resemble a historic Parisian apartment, with elegant furnishings and art pieces arranged alongside the fragrance collections.
A handful of additional boutiques followed in Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Doha and Beverly Hills. While all of the shops share the same classic French aesthetic, each has a distinctive look of its own. Tollemer’s interior designs for the boutiques – which include wood paneling and flooring – were conceptualised and assembled in France, then shipped to be reassembled on-site.
It’s a long, thoughtful process that emphasises careful craftsmanship – making every boutique around the world a true Henry Jacques creation.
Soon to join this exclusive retail line-up is the brand’s first experiential boutique in Hong Kong, slated to open in February at Elements mall in West Kowloon. The space will feature Henry Jacques’ signature fragrance collections, in addition to consultation services to develop custom scents – which are composed at the brand’s laboratory in Grasse, France.
This new boutique will allow Hong Kong shoppers to fully explore Henry Jacques’ world of singular scents, as well as Tollemer’s designs showcasing the haute parfumerie’s traditions at their finest.
Henry Jacques Hong Kong
Shop 2036A and 2042, 2/F, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, 2466 1688