Guerlain taps calligraphy master for ‘Bee Bottle’ reimagining

May 8, 2023

"Love" is written nine times across the surface of a new release from the maison, done in collaboration with a Lebanese designer. Image credit: LVMH

By Luxury Daily News Service

French beauty brand Guerlain is presenting an ultra-luxe perfume creation.

The maison partnered with Lebanese designer Nadine Kanso to revisit a classic fragrance bottle, who imparted “love” nine times in Arabic across the Bee Bottle’s honeycombed surface using modern calligraphy. With only 30 editions made, each studded with 1,710 Swarovski crystals, the drop is a highly exclusive collaboration.

Bee attitude
The newest Bee Bottle touches on the artist’s heritage, which is often her creative muse.

Beirut-born and Dubai-based, Ms. Kanso formed her own jewelry company to honor her roots, calling it “Bil Arabi,” meaning “in Arabic.” The brand crafts pieces made from precious stones and 18-carat gold, taking inspiration from the Arabic alphabet in design – many of the jewelry items bear messages in the language.

“I chose the word love to show the world that with love we can do beautiful things.” - Nadine Kanso
Like a sparkling cuff bracelet on a woman’s arm, Nadine Kanso's design gently embraces the curves of Guerlain's iconic Bee Bottle in this unique Exceptional Piece, crafted from… pic.twitter.com/riY9UkNOhU
— Guerlain (@Guerlain) April 23, 2023

The Guerlain calligraphy addition to the Bee Bottle, glittering in over a thousand crystals, is wrapped around the vessel like one of Ms. Kanso’s Bil Arabi bracelets.

Due to this assembly, the bottle is considered equal parts jewelry and perfume art piece by the brand.

The unique creation was tasked to Guerlain’s 132-year-old workshop, “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant,” or the Living Heritage Company, where every one of the 30 adornments took more than 12 hours to make, drawing on both Ms. Kanso’s design and the atelier’s five-generations-worth of passed-down knowledge of the craft.

Nadine Kanso's exquisite Exceptional Piece is set off by the ambery glow of Rêve d'Amour, a voluptuous Eau de Parfum as radiant as the Bee Bottle itself Neroli, jasmine sambac, ylang-ylang, lily and cedarwood combine in a voluptuous bouquet of white and golden floral notes, in an… pic.twitter.com/rFNzT7EDP4
— Guerlain (@Guerlain) April 24, 2023

The nine mentions of “love” on every Bee Bottle were crafted and gilded individually, working with Swarovski to add the crystals.

“I chose the word ‘love’ to show the world that with love we can accomplish beautiful things,” said Ms. Kanso, in a statement.

The 24-carat gold and crystal-covered design sparkles against the peach-tinted glow of the “Rêve d’Amour” fragrance within, which was exclusively formulated by house perfumers for the new Bee Bottle’s passionate message – the perfume features notes of rich cedarwood, ylang-ylang, jasmine sambac, neroli and lily.

The piece celebrates the heritage of the artist and the bottle itself, marking its 170th anniversary

The 30 bottles are signed, numbered and available only by request as part of Guerlain’s “Exceptional Creations” collaborative line, filled with other artists’ renditions of various perfume bottles from the maison.

In January 2023, Guerlain partnered with Maison Matisse to craft other limited-edition bottles for the line – in this case, each bottle paid homage to the artwork of French colorist painter Henri Matisse (see story).

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Guerlain taps calligraphy master for ‘Bee Bottle’ reimagining

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