Perfume museum to open in Paris

A perfume museum will open in Paris in the former headquarters of Christian Lacroix, an initiative of the French Union of Perfumery, the city of Paris, as reported in Fashion Network's French edition in mid August.

The four-story, 15,555 square-foot building will play host to Le Grand Musée du Parfum, which is expected to open in December of this year. 

Unlike museums opened by the perfume house Fragonard in Grasse and Paris, this new institution is not linked to any particular brand, explained the museum's creators.

Financed by private funds, the museum is supported by the French Union of perfumery, which includes 66 houses of French perfume.

"The ambassador of French luxury labels, perfume is one of the jewels of the French economy. Yet despite its international influence, French perfumery has not previously had its own suitable Parisian showcase," said the museum creators in a press release last month.

The museum “will use the latest technology....to trace three major phases in the history of perfumes, from Egypt of the Pharaohs to the present, inviting visitors to explore a unique olfactory collection comprising more than 60 scents," said the statement.

The interactive olfactory exhibition was designed together with the U.S. company International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), specializing in the creation of flavors and fragrances used in a wide range of consumer products.

Businessman Guillaume de Maussion is the museum's executive director. A scientific and cultural advisory board comprises Jean-Claude Ellena, former head perfumer and consultant at Hermès, Sylvaine Delacourte, Director of Development at Guerlain perfumes, and Patricia de Nicolai, founder of the eponymous house and president of Osmothèque, the world's largest perfume archive located in Versailles.

Le Grand Musée du Parfum, backed by the city, will include a bookstore and concept store.