Just months after announcing her exit from Chloé, sustainability stalwart Gabriela Hearst has released her first fragrances.
Hearst has unveiled two limited-edition fragrances in partnership with perfumer Fueguia 1883. This joint venture marks Fueguia 1833’s inaugural partnership with a fashion maven and Hearst’s initial venture into the fragrance sector.
The new gender-neutral fragrances are entitled Paysandú and New York, and they offer aromatic profiles that have been meticulously crafted over two years to encapsulate distinct phases of Hearst’s life.
The essence of Paysandú is deeply tied to the rural landscapes of Uruguay, where Hearst grew up. It is also the birthplace of Julian Bedel, the founder of Fueguia 1833. This scent draws its essence from native Uruguayan botanicals and falls primarily within the floral olfactory family. With a top note of Marcela, the fragrance transitions to a heart of Jazmín del País, and rounds off with a base note of Carqueja.
Bedel and Hearst worked closely to ensure the scents reflected their vision. “Working with Julian on this project of 2 years has been thrilling. It combines my life so far, half with my roots in Paysandú and half in New York,” Hearst said in a statement.
“Childhood memories and landscapes (for Paysandú) and the strength of womanhood (for New York) are combined with the alchemy of science and the pheromone potion that Julian crafted.”
Hearst said plants, the Marcela and the Carqueja, “found in my ranch in Paysandú are now, for the first time, found in a perfume, and are used to calm your nervous system.”
The New York fragrance serves as an evolutionary sequel to Paysandú. It encapsulates the dynamism of the city, described as embodying “the night, lights, movement — and the eclectic state of possibility that the city encompasses.” The primary olfactory family for this fragrance is wood, with a top note of Fir Balsam, a heart of Tobacco, and a base note of Jacarandá Wood.
Like Hearst brings sustainability to her designs, she says the perfumes are crafted “using the most natural distillery process: a process Julian would liken to acoustic music (as opposed to electric).”
According to Hearst, Bedel formulates vertically, researching botanicals and bottling to the highest standards — methods not unlike Hearst’s own commitments to sustainable materials and artisan production.
“These perfumes also represent everything I believe true luxury should represent in the current moment: an uncompromising respect for Mother Nature as a muse for our scent, beauty, experience and senses, evoking quality with limited editions as we simply cannot afford to do too much. Rare and special,” Hearst said.
The fragrances are now available for purchase at both Gabriela Hearst and Fueguia 1833 stores, as well as online at Bergdorf Goodman and coming soon to Harrods department store.
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