On July 26, Elie Saab and VOGUE hosted an intimate gathering at the Clift Hotel’s Spanish Suite to celebrate the launch of the design house’s first fragrance, Le Parfum.  SF locals and VOGUE brand ambassadors Ali Sonsini Turner (stylist) and Kendall Wilkinson (of Kendall Wilkinson Design) co-hosted the event.

Guests were greeted with champagne, and an introduction to the brand from Beauté Prestige International’s Kory Marchisott, followed by a brief film providing a behind-the-scenes look at Elie Saab’s atelier and the making of the design house’s first fragrance, Le Parfum.  After the screening, guests spilled onto the Spanish Suite balcony, where they were greeted by models in Elie Saab couture and a calla lily-filled reception, featuring Lebanese-inspired appetizers (in honor of Mr. Saab’s heritage).

Created by world-renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, ELIE SAAB Le Parfum is based on a floral, solar, woody theme. The first soaring notes of orange blossom set the tone, a solar evocation of Mediterranean petals whose light echoes the sun at its height. The jasmine heart is enriched by the gentle shading of pure patchouli. A white flower bouquet is completed by a  cedar woody accord, giving the floral notes new density.  Finally, the trail unfurls, borrowing its addictive notes from rose honey.

Mr. Saab explained the inspiration for Le Parfum:

“As with my collections, it is women first and foremost who inspire me.  I wanted to put a magnified vision of femininity into my perfume.  I also thought a lot of my childhood memories creating this perfume. Since childhood, I’ve always loved smells; I think it comes from the fact that I grew up in a city on the Mediterranean, where I was surrounded by the scents of many flowers. I wanted to transcribe the light of the Middle East into  a universal  &  modern perfume.”

Always passionate about design and architecture, Elie Saab dreamt of a glass bottle with a pure shape that played on light, brilliance, and transparency.   “I wanted something simple. Straight lines, the rigor of a cube, and the sensation of an object made to be held in the hand, but with the density of beautiful objects.” says Saab.  “And as always, light as the overarching theme. For me, light is eternal strength.”

The fragrance is now available at Harrods in London, and will be available in the US this September at Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.