GUERLAIN Debuts “AN EXPLORATION OF FRAGRANCE, SINCE 1828 & BEYOND” Exhibition in Shanghai

With its most ambitious exhibition to date, An Exploration of Fragrance: Since 1828 & Beyond, Guerlain delivers a refined and assertive answer to a fundamental question: What truly defines a perfume?

Opening on May 8 at No.1 Waitanyuan in Shanghai, the exhibition featuring over 80 rare pieces, including two on view for the first time ever, unfolds across four distinct thematic galleries. Through immersive light and scent installations, an archive of rare ingredients, and interactive displays, the maison invites guests on a transcendent sensory voyage through time and memory.

This exhibition is not just a feast for the senses—melding scent, sound, sight, and thought—it also poses a deeper, more existential question to legacy brands: Can a house rich in history still stay open to the new? Can it continue to surprise?

As fragrance trends have surged and shifted at dizzying speed in recent years, Guerlain resists the urge to chase what’s fleeting. Instead, it responds with something more grounded: a sincere meditation on what it means to be “perfume.”
 

As a perfume Maison weaving nearly two centuries of French elegance into its heritage, Guerlain may be hailed as the pinnacle of perfume—but through this exhibition, the house reminds us: the journey of scent doesn’t end here; it only keeps unfolding.

The inaugural ceremony gathered master perfumer Thierry Wasser, Guerlain’s Art, Culture, Heritage Director Ann-Caroline Prazan, LVMH Greater China Group President Andrew Wu and Guerlain China General Manager Stella Ye to honor the Maison’s olfactory dynasty.

The exhibition runs through May 18, with reservations available via Guerlain’s official WeChat Mini Program.

The “TIME TRAVELING WALKWAY” gallery transports audiences through Guerlain’s aromatic annals, where five generations of perfumers have sculpted fragrance history. Beginning with Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain’s 1853 coronation gift Eau de Cologne ImpéRiale for Empress Eugénie, the narrative unfolds through Aimé Guerlain’s revolutionary 1889 abstract composition Jicky—the blueprint of modern perfumery—to Jacques Guerlain’s 1925 oriental masterpiece Shalimar and the pioneering 1965 masculine opus Habit Rouge. The odyssey culminates in contemporary marvels by Thierry Wasser, fifth-generation guardian of Guerlain’s olfactory codes.

It also highlights Guerlain’s trailblazing contributions to beauty over the past 200 years, from industry firsts to timeless classics—such as the world’s first tube lipstick, Ne m’oubliez pas, and the revolutionary 1904 launch of Crème Secret de Bonne Femme, the first modern moisturizer.

The “GARDEN OF WONDERS” is an emerald sanctuary celebrating three botanical treasures: Calabrian bergamot from Italy’s sun-drenched groves, Grasse’s centifolia rose fields, and Tunisian Neroli orange blossom. Through augmented reality headsets, visitors soar over Brittany’s Ouessant Island—Guerlain’s bee conservation epicenter—where black bees thrive amidst protected flora, crafting the golden nectar that hallmarks Guerlain’s skincare alchemy.

Within “THE FRAGRANCE ALCHEMY DISCOVERY” laboratory, L'ART & LA MATIÈRE collection reveals haute parfumerie’s highest articulation. Master perfumers emerge as modern alchemists, transmuting visionary concepts into liquid poetry. A global premiere resonates through the halls: Olfactory Symphony No.1, Angélique Noire, a synesthetic composition co-created with IRCAM Paris, harmonizing scent symphonies with algorithmic soundscapes.

The last gallery “THE CHAMBER OF TREASURES” manifests the alchemical synthesis of Guerlain’s centennial craftsmanship and contemporary artistry. Archival editions of the Shalimar Bee Bottles alongside limited-release Muguet collections showcase collaborations with Guerlain's most illustrious artisan workshops. Each artifact embodies collaborations with maître verriers and jewellers, testifying to Guerlain’s dual mastery of olfactory and decorative arts across generations.