Lalique

The history of the Lalique house

Lalique is a house owed to René Lalique, an illustrious figure of the last century, born in 1860. He began his career in 1885 as a jewelry designer. His company, belonging to the Art Nouveau style, became within just a few years one of the most recognized names in jewelry. A creative and innovative figure, René Lalique was in constant search of new materials. He thus directed his company toward glasswork. After the First World War, the Art Nouveau movement was replaced by a more minimalist and geometric style more commonly known as Art Deco. Firmly attuned to the trends of his time, René Lalique adopted this new style, which brought him immediate success. The Lalique house was thus entrusted with the creation of prestigious works such as the decoration of the dining car of the Orient-Express or that of famous fountains on the Champs-Élysées. Upon René Lalique's death in 1945, his son Marc modernized the family factory, which had been partly destroyed by the ravages of war. He also introduced crystal work into the company. He was succeeded by his daughter Marie-Claude Lalique, the first woman to take on the role of creative director of this great house. She became famous for the vivid colors of her creations and embodied a kind of union between tradition and renewal. Currently, and since 2008, the Lalique house belongs to the Swiss company Art & Fragrance. The house continues to expand its production capacities and is no longer known solely for its sculptural works. It has also become a major player in perfumery.

Lalique perfumes

Although the Lalique house first emerged as a jeweler, its history has always been closely tied to that of perfumery. Moreover, it was in 1907 that René Lalique met François Coty, a perfumer based on the Place Vendôme in Paris. Together, they sought to make perfume more accessible. They collaborated with a view to industrializing bottle manufacturing and making perfumery accessible to a wider audience. However, it took much longer before a first perfume entirely signed by the Lalique brand appeared. It was released in 1992 under the direction of Marie-Claude Lalique. It was a fairly classic floral fragrance, followed 10 years later by Tendre Kiss, a more modern and sparkling composition. Other perfumes followed in this vein, such as Perles de Lalique, Encre Noire, White, Amethyst, Cascade, Fleur de Cristal, and Satine, to name just a few. Likewise, in 2014, Lalique launched a collection called Noir Premier, made up of six perfumes each symbolizing an important date in the brand's history.