L'EAU d'ISSEY, beloved by many women, has collaborated with French artist Mademoiselle Maurice to create a limited edition spring collection, L'EAU d'ISSEY City Blossom, which went on sale nationwide on February 25th. Prior to the launch, Mademoiselle Maurice held a live installation in which adorable origami flowers brilliantly decorated the windows of ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA, almost like a pre-celebration for Hinamatsuri (Girl's Festival) (the installation ends on March 3rd).



■From Mademoiselle Maurice's creations to "City Blossom"

The famous fragrance "L'Eau d'Issey" was born in 1992. As its name, which means "Water of Issey" in French, suggests, the groundbreaking concept of "water" has ushered in a new era in the world of fragrance. Its sophisticated scent and bottle design are for adults. Its unparalleled and outstanding originality continues to fascinate many women even 22 years later. However, it is also true that a new generation is being born who are unfamiliar with L'Eau d'Issey. City Blossom was created as a fragrance that would open the door to L'Eau d'Issey for this younger generation. Its source of inspiration was the work of Mademoiselle Maurice, a rising star artist born in 1984.

Maurice is based in Paris. She creates paintings by pasting origami paper onto urban buildings, road exteriors, and sometimes natural rocks. Although it is origami, the paper she uses is not specifically designed for origami; different paper qualities and sizes are used for each piece. The colors are primarily rainbow. She brings a bright, cheerful, and soothing atmosphere to urban spaces that tend to be desolate, often made of concrete and stone. To avoid soiling the surface, her paintings are removed after a few days, and the paper is reused.

"When I encountered Maurice's work, the idea of using a non-existent, imaginary flower as a motif came to mind," recalls Agnès Satin, head of development (International Marketing Director for Issey Miyake Parfum at Beauté Prestige International). The City Blossom project began with Maurice's work as its starting point. It proceeded in a completely opposite way to the conventional process of going from concept to fragrance and bottle design, before moving on to advertising visuals.

Maurice was in charge of the graphic design of the bottle and packaging. The key to this creation was how to interpret Maurice's work and what to express using L'Eau d'Issey as a base.

Satin had this to say about Maurice's work: "Her works contain the monotony and monotony of the city, yet at the same time are very colorful and poetically moving. They don't just remain that way, but also inspire a sense of joy and simple pleasure that somehow transports anyone back to childhood. They bring that same joy that makes you feel like a child again."
The fragrance was created by renowned perfumer Alberto Morillas. While creating a fragrance typically involves communicating a concept, story, or keywords, Satin didn't use any of those this time. Satin simply showed Maurice's work as it was. "He grasped and understood it. He sensed the birth of something, a new birth, and at the same time, something that leaps forward from there. He described it as the feeling of a paper flower gradually opening."
Morillas focused on the "sublime breath of spring," selecting and combining fragrances from a collection said to number 1,250. With floral and woody notes, the top notes vividly evoke the flower buds that begin to swell with the arrival of spring, while the middle notes emphasize the freshness of flowers that are only half-open. The base notes beautifully express flowers in full bloom, both elegant and bold. The impression changes from youthful and lively to a pleasant freshness, and then gradually matures into a scent reminiscent of L'Eau d'Issey. Mr. Morillas' interpretation of Maurice's work is conveyed through the delicate fragrance.


The live installation continued from the morning of February 11th until the afternoon of the 12th. Film was applied to both sides of the window, and the same origami paper as on the street side was pasted on the back (inside the shop).

By the way, Maurice is not his real name, but is a common male name of someone one generation older than him. "There are a lot of male artists, so I chose Mademoiselle to match. Also, I grew up in a simple mountain environment, so by giving myself a male name, it's as if I was surrounded by older men who supported me." ■Mademoiselle Maurice and Japan In fact, Maurice has previously lived in Japan. He was already creating works using fabric, but was searching for his own way of expression. He came to Japan on a working holiday visa. As Maurice says, "I fell in love with Japan." However, after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, he decided to return to France. While in Japan, he learned origami from a photo book, but it wasn't until he returned to Japan that he began folding. Rather than being a work of art, it was "a tribute to the victims of the disaster," and he folded over 100 birds and flowers using recycled scraps and various types of paper. "When I'm folding, I enter a meditative state. It's as if time stands still, and I enter my own world." Indeed, the act of folding evokes a solemn, ritual-like feeling.

Maurice values "transforming natural elements, such as plants and animals, into artworks." Flowers and birds, folded into graphic, abstract shapes, are his elements. The theme of his "City Blossom" installation is "bringing nature into the city through my artwork, and creating a dialogue between nature and the people who gather there." He says he was greatly influenced by Japanese sensibilities regarding the connection between people and nature, and their relationship with the four seasons.

He begins his work with the largest, main element. It's not as if he expects the overall shape to take shape; it's only when he finally adds the smaller elements that the work takes on a sense of poetry and lightness. He also says that small things bring magic. "Interestingly, by attaching tiny petals, I felt I was able to clearly express the lightness of perfume and the delicate sensitivity of something abstract that cannot be tangibly grasped." Using the example of cherry blossoms, even when they are in full bloom, it is when the countless tiny petals fall that the most realistic thing they say to you is that feeling.

"For me, when I fold paper one by one to make flowers, I create my works with the feeling that I am folding each and every human being. So, if the petals are people, then there is a sense of solidarity among all the individuals, and that is the feeling I get."

Maurice's pure thoughts and messages are folded honestly into his works, which is why they are able to draw people in.



Top photo: Flowers are also painted in the background of the fragrance corner inside the store
Bottom photo: The ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA shop is located on the street leading from Omotesando to Nezu Museum. Elementary school students are engrossed in the installation. Adults walking by also stopped in their tracks, some taking photos with their smartphones.

At the end of the interview, Maurice said, "I really feel Issey Miyake's work conveys a connection with nature. In other words, I really got a sense of the idea of returning humans to their true nature. I am very honored to be collaborating with him on this project." :


Photo on the left: L'Eau d'Issey City Blossom Eau de Toilette (50ml/9,900 yen), (90ml/13,200 yen)
Photo on the right: Agnès Satin, International Marketing Director for Issey Miyake Parfum at Beauté Prestige International

Following London and Tokyo, Maurice's live installation was also held in Paris and New York. The footage from the flagship stores in all four cities will be edited into a single video which will be released on the Issey Miyake official website.