L.A. designer Monique Lhuillier dreams of Positano with new home fragrance
Having sold signature china, crystal, giftware and tabletop collections for more than 10 years, Monique Lhuillier is extending that presence with her first home fragrance.
A year in the making, the Citrus Lily collection was developed with Agraria and consists of an AirEssence flower diffuser and a perfume candle. The scent was inspired by the citrus and floral combinations prevalent in Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, one of the designer’s favorite places to retreat to.
Harrods will launch Citrus Lily on Sept. 1 and Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus are also partnering with the designer, who may create a printed dress inspired by the peonies, lilies and other flowers featured on the home fragrance’s packaging. Citrus Lily will also be infused and sold in the designer’s freestanding stores, as well as at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. In six months, fragrant tassels will be added so that shoppers can hang them in their closets or on cabinets.
“I love peonies but the scent of the fragrance really has to a lot do with lilies, freesia, gardenias and base notes of Indian sandalwood, which is an unexpected twist that is so pretty,” Lhuillier said. “Since we already are in the home area with [bridal] registry products, this just made sense as the next step.”
Regardless of her multicollection schedule, Lhuillier said she always returns to a well-scented house (with her husband and chief executive officer Tom Bugbee.) “Whenever I walk through my door, whether it’s at home at night or in the morning with my children, I always have a fragrance, a candle burning or diffusers,” she said.
Now that her home fragrance is good to go, Lhuillier is already imagining another olfactory pursuit. “One of the things that I would really like to do is a personal fragrance like a body scent. That is something I would love to do down the line,” she said.
In the meantime, Lhuillier is focused on wrapping up her collection for her Sept. 13 runway show at the IAC building in New York.
