Hermes The Gardens Collection

The Hermès Jardin collection has long been celebrated as a pinnacle of olfactory travelogue. Since 2003, the house has invited us to wander through secret gardens in Tunisia, Egypt, and even the rooftop of their own 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré headquarters. These scents, once the domain of Jean-Claude Ellena, are now being reimagined through the lens of Christine Nagel. The 2023 addition, Un Jardin à Cythère, marks a significant departure from the watery, lush greens of the past, opting instead for a dry, sun-baked landscape. Located in the Peloponnese, the island of Kythira serves as the inspiration for this scent. Rather than focusing on the blue of the Mediterranean Sea, Nagel focuses on the golden hues of the island's wild grasses and the silver-green of its olive trees. It is a fragrance that captures the heat of a Greek summer without relying on the typical aquatic or heavy floral tropes that dominate the genre. As a news reporter for Vivir.com, I find this shift toward 'dry freshness' to be one of the most compelling trends in luxury perfumery this year.