Fragrance house

VILHELM PERFUMERIE

Vilhelm Parfumerie was founded in New York in 2015 by Swedish designer Jan Ahlgren. The house grew from Ahlgren’s work designing leather handbags: after wanting to scent the leather, he met perfumer Jérôme Épinette and became interested in creating perfume. Its fragrances are conceived as narratives linked to memories, imagined scenes, art, and places, particularly across New York and Paris. The visual language includes spun-glass bottles designed by Pierre Dinand and saffron-yellow labels inspired by Bakelite found at a Paris flea market. The fragrances are created in Paris with French perfumers Jérôme Épinette, Bertrand Duchaufour, and Marc-Antoine Corticchiato. At its 2015 debut, Vilhelm presented eight fragrances at Barneys New York. On November 6, 2018, Swiss company Creative Perfume Company SA announced its acquisition of the brand and assumed global distribution, while Ahlgren remained responsible for new fragrances and related products as artistic and creative director. Dear Polly is one of Vilhelm’s defining fragrances, associated with Ahlgren’s wife and their morning tea ritual.