Hermès Voyage in Parfum (2012): New Depth of Field {New Fragrance}

Following up on our previous article regarding the new version of Voyage d'Hermès to debut this spring 2012, we learn that the mysterious smoky glass of the flacon signed by Philippe Mouquet does not conceal an eau de parfum, but rather a pure parfum, in the same vein as was proposed with Terre d'Hermès edt and parfum...

This new olfactory shape for Voyage d'Hermès is no mere pretext to simply rethinking the concentration in the material and artisanal senses of the term, but really the composition itself, bringing to it "a new depth of field" explains Jean-Claude Ellena, the nose-in-title for the house.

A finespun drawing by graphic novel author Moebius is the visual illustration for this project. One sees a traveler flying on a flacon of Voyage d'Hermès turned into a sort of flying magic carpet diving into a sinous maze of foregrounds and backgrounds in a landscape whose morphology is complex, striated as it is with multiple geological layers (you can click on the picture to take a closer look at the details). We are somewhere in a fantasmatic mythological universe. Buddhist references such as stupas add a spiritual dimension inviting us to think that a travel is also at times a form of pilgrimage.

Regarding the perfume which finds its illustration in the drawing by Moebius printed silver on smoky black paper, the perfumer explains that "Voyage d'Hermès is a more contrasted evocation which outlines very vivid contours and offers to the eye a different perspective. It is the same landscape, but the relief is denser, more marked. To draw a parallel with photography, one could talk of a new depth of field." The nose adds that here he has made a point to "focus on the intensity of perceptions and the amplitude of sillage".

Review to follow