Nicolas Ghesquiere Talks about Kristen and ''Florabotanica''

Nicolas Ghesquiere Talks about Kristen and ''Florabotanica''

Coty Prestige has unveiled the new feminine fragrance from the house of Balenciaga. Florabotanica, which is fronted by actress Kristen Stewart, will be available in travel retail worldwide from October.

The edp scent is said to combine the fantastical and ultra-contemporary aspects of the Balenciaga brand. “There is a real duality in Balenciaga, between classicism and experimentation,” noted Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière. “For this new fragrance, I wanted to explore this paradox between the pure and the enigmatic further. A few years ago, I designed this ‘floral collection’. The dresses were covered with flowers, but these flowers were neither charming nor romantic. They structured the whole silhouette. I wanted the flowers in this perfume to express the same idea.”

The name Florabotanica references the 18th century botanical gardens in which the most exotic and rarest plant species were displayed. “It is a secret garden where you find surprising flowers that surpass the imagination,” Ghesquière explained. “They are beautiful but are they really that harmless? Flowers can be cruel, carnivorous or venomous, contain poisons. What would a perfume that contained the charm and mystery of flowers be like? This is the story that we wanted to tell with Florabotanica.”

The juice, composed by Olivier Polge and Jean-Christophe Hérault, features two key accords. The vetiver, amber and caladium leaf accord aims to evoke a resonance of mossy and mysterious dark wood, according to the brand. The rose, carnation and mint accord delivers exhilaration and a juvenile freshness. The rose in question is a hybrid, experimental rose, with its origins in Turkey, to which a formula of “psychosensory plants” has been added.

The fragrance face is actress Kristen Stewart, best known for her role in the blockbuster Twilight saga. Balanciaga chose her for her tetchy youthfulness and rebellious femininity.

“Kristen Stewart has a real personality,” noted Ghesquière. “She captivated me when we met a few years ago. I had not forgotten her. She is the perfect embodiment of a certain idea of Balenciaga: that beauty that is both pure and uncontrollable. We met again for Florabotanica. She is totally this graceful and mysterious figure that symbolises this strange botanical garden.”

The fragrance flacon features graphic black and white stripes, as favoured by Cristóbal Balenciaga. An oversized tube plunges into the middle of the bottle in the style of a laboratory test tube.

Credit => Moodie Report / Via => @KStewAngel