Heir to a long line of cognac makers that were pioneers in luxury the grandson of the founder of the LVMH Group Kilian Hennessy decided to take up the torch of family tradition.
His childhood haunts included the family cellars in Cognac. Before graduating from CELSA (School of Higher Studies in the Information and Communication Sciences at the Sorbonne) he wrote a thesis on the semantics of odors in search of a language common to gods and mortals. In search of the “angels share,” he encountered the world of perfumery. The “angels share” is what the House of Hennessy calls the percentage that—inexplicably—evaporates from cognac cellars, like an offering to the gods.
Kilian’s fragrances are redolent of the sugar in alcohol and the wood of cognac barrels. After graduating from a university program in communication and language sciences,he trained with the greatest noses in perfumery and worked for the most prestigious perfume houses such as Christian Dior, Paco Rabanne, Alexander Mc Queen, and Giorgio Armani.
Although his career was rich and varied, it still wasn’t enough as he yearned to return to his first love: pure, divine, and incandescent creation. In 2007, Kilian launched his own brand with a collection that not only reflects his personality, L’Œuvre Noire, yet also achieves a perfect alliance between elegance and uncompromising luxury. In 2009, Kilian launched the Arabian Nights collection, an olfactive journey with Arabic inspiration. In 2010, seeing his companion wearing the black lacquer perfume box as a clutch, Kilian, lover of pure lines and the Bauhaus movement, asks artisans in Florence to make exceptional evening bags in purely black lacquer. Adorned with luxury details such as shagreen, silver and gold marquetry and Swarovski crystals, he gives them familiar names such as Invitation and Don’t Be Shy. Using the names from l’Œuvre Noire as inspiration, each bag tells a story of its own and offers luxury enthusiasts a new object of desire.
In 2012, the Asian Tales collection arrived, inviting the fragrance lover into a new olfactive journey, this one told through intimate Asian folklore. Today, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the brand, Kilian launches In the Garden of Good and Evil.
Video by Anais Benoudiz
Romina Nabhen
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