Creative Directors Lucie and Luke Meier of Jil Sander dip into the fragrance world to debut Olfactory Series 1.
This fragrance collection, available to shop in the newly opened Jil Sander boutique in Mall of the Emirates, features 6 unisex scents created in partnership with globally renowned noses that embody its minimalistic design codes and core brand DNA of the fashion brand.
Here, Emirates Woman speaks exclusively to the husband-and-wife creative duo to know more about the scents and sensibilities behind this new category launch and final beauty act for Jil Sander.
What sparked the idea of expanding into fragrance?
We work from a holistic approach, so fragrance is a natural extension of our design process. It is an important part of a person’s life and their expression. It can conjure strong emotions as well as mark time periods or locations. For us, it is an important way people can translate their point of view.
What was the starting point in developing this series of fragrances?
The process began with a dialogue—first between each other, then with the perfumers, and the developers. As with all aspects of design, our aim was to create something refined and sophisticated in a pure way.
How would you describe Jil Sander’s scent philosophy?
It is about clarity, authenticity, and personal expression. Our fragrances are meticulously crafted, blending a selection of natural ingredients with the bright, unexpected qualities of aldehydes, which bring both volume and radiance to the scent. We aimed to create fragrances that feel personal and impactful, offering the wearer a way to express their identity with quiet strength and distinctiveness.
This new launch celebrates heritage whilst delivering something that feels new. What are the hero ingredients used that make it unique?
We weren’t after anything heritage per se; we focused on the ingredients and scent profiles we found interesting and different. Perhaps there were elements of personal nostalgia, but that was more present in the selection of the scents themselves.
Each fragrance in the collection is centered around natural ingredients, with aldehydes amplifying their presence. These include cedarwood, vetiver from Madagascar, CO2-extracted patchouli leaves, black krim tomato, matsutake mushroom, and buckwheat honey, among others.
Scent is one of the most powerful senses in terms of evoking a memory or feeling of nostalgia. Is there a common thread that ties the fragrance collection?
Each scent is inspired by something we personally like or places we have visited. Some of the fragrances are familiar to a degree, but we wanted to make them new and different.
What are the challenges you encountered in creating this and how did you overcome it?
The development of the fragrances themselves was rather straightforward, although we are satisfied with the result in that they are quite pure but have depth. The most challenging aspect was to create a bottle that has an imperfect, ‘hand-made’ feeling within a very industrialized process. We credit FormaFantasma and the technical development team in achieving a great result.
Do you think there’s a connection between personality, style, and scent preference?
Absolutely. Just as fashion, fragrance serves as a profound form of self-expression. It can convey a strong emotion and point of view.
How can one choose the right Jil Sander fragrance – what should we be looking for?
It should be an intuitive experience— something that feels right in the present moment. We want people to connect with our fragrances and make them their own.
How did you and the five international perfumers collaborate effectively?
We worked closely with five talented perfumers—Julie Massé, who created Leaf and Earth, Mathilde Bijaoui, who crafted Miel, Nathalie Lorson for Black Tea, Bérénice Watteau for Smoke, and Paul Guerlain for Coffea. The process was highly collaborative; we provided a clear vision and direction while allowing them the creative freedom to explore.
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