Launched in 1948, L’Air du Temps is the fragrance that made the house of Nina Ricci. Francis Fabron ties carnation and clove to a bouquet of gardenia, jasmine and rose, over a powdery base of iris, sandalwood and oakmoss. Robert Ricci wanted a bottle that carried peace: Marc Lalique gave it, in 1951, its two crystal doves. Rewritten across the decades, it remains one of the most widely recognized spicy florals in the world.
Two crystal doves entwined atop a glass swirl, designed by Marc Lalique in 1951; the attribution of the 1948 bottle remains disputed.
The bottle associated with the fragrance dates from 1951: Marc Lalique set two entwined doves atop a crystal swirl. Robert Ricci wanted a symbol of peace three years after the war, and the dove has never left L’Air du Temps.
The very first bottle, in 1948, already bore a raised dove on its stopper, notes Now Smell This. Its design remains disputed between the sculptor Joan Rebull, the decorator Christian Bérard and René Lalique, according to the Fragrance Foundation or other accounts.
Now Smell This traces the fragrance’s successive guises, from 1948 through the 1950s, 1968, 1986 and 2008, up to a 2010 edition designed by Philippe Starck. The house recently dressed the eau de parfum in handmade porcelain, in a limited edition with the Parisian Alix D. Reynis.