TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM | SEPTEMBER 2019 95
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The One
PER SCENT
How one candle got into all
the right places. BY APRIL LONG
I
s there a well-appointed home that doesn’t
have at least one Diptyque candle prom-
inently displayed? The brand’s jumbled-
letter cartouche is a shorthand signifier of
good taste, despite the fact that you no longer
need to travel to Paris to bag a Baies. Here’s
how the world’s favorite French flame retains
its je ne sais quoi.ROYAL GUEST
OF HONOR
Catherine Deneuve began presenting the
candles as gifts after chancing upon the
boutique in the ’60s; John Galliano, an
ardent fan of the woody Feu de Bois, col-
laborated with the company to create the
Diptyque Essence of J.G. candle in 2003,
which he burned in his Dior workshop. The
brand’s most prestigious cameo appearance?
Days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s
wedding, it was revealed that the couple had
hand-picked an array of Diptyques to scent
St. George’s Chapel, as well as the private rooms
where they dressed. To this day only three
people at the company know which candles
they were—and they’re not talking.NOW...
THE GRANDE
DAME
This summer marked the
opening—to VIPs only—of
the official Diptyque archive,
housed upstairs at 34 Boulevard
Saint-Germain. One finds draw-
ers of Knox-Leet’s meticulously illustrated
travel notebooks, Montadre-Gautrot’s still-
modern fabric designs, and objects from
the “chic bazaar” that continue to inspire
new offerings. To wit: The new Prêt-à-Parfumer
collection of wearable perfumed objects includes
a 14K gold–plated bird brooch, fitted with a dis-
creet diffuser, that nods to hand-painted duck
decoys sold in the OG boutique.
This month Diptyque is reviving the
cabinet-of-curiosities concept with a Paris
pop-up at 16 Rue Saint-Roch. The shop,
which will be stocked with precious objets
d’art and limited collaborations with artisans
from around the world, ensures that the spirit
of free-ranging eclecticism and sensual delight
instilled by the founders lives on. “For decades
you had to come to Paris if you wanted a
Diptyque candle,” says director of marketing
Myriam Badault. “That’s what we want to con-
tinue: the specialness of having to travel to a
single location to bring home a treasure.” AN INGENUE
IN PARIS
The original Diptyque boutique, which opened at
34 Boulevard Saint-Germain in 1961, was con-
ceived by its late founders—fabric designer
Christiane Montadre-Gautrot, theater set
designer Yves Coueslant, and painter Des-
mond Knox-Leet (a descendant of the Scottishking who inspired Macbeth)—as a “chic
bazaar” that sold curiosities they gathered
on their travels, from Japanese lanterns and
Indian marionettes to Limoges porcelains and
Liberty print cushions. “They wanted to offer
beautiful, impeccable things that were also
simple,” says Diptyque global CEO Fabienne
Mauny. “To create an art of living through
the senses.”FRONT ROW
FIXTURE
Diptyque debuted a trio of
handcrafted candles infused
with the scents of hawthorn,
tea, and cinnamon in 1963,
kicking off a stream of exqui-
site creations designed to fill rooms with
aromas never before rendered in wax. But
it was Baies that made history. The rose-and-
blackcurrant-scented candle has been the
brand’s best-seller since its launch in 1983,
and it became a fashion crowd essential when
Karl Lagerfeld chose it to perfume Chanel
boutiques and runway shows.