The Family Rose

Henry Jacques CEO ANNE-LISE CREMONA launches the haute parfumerie’s new series, Collection de l’Atelier, with her two sons.

- Jennifer Chen

The beard barely masks the youth of the presenter of Henry Jacques' latest drop of rare perfumes at The Singapore Edition hotel, yet he speaks about the haute parfumerie's Rose de Mai collection with the confidence of one fluent in the language of fragrances. He is, 1 learn later, the youngest son of Henry Jacques CEO Anne-Lise Cremona and a scion of a family with near 50 years of perfume-making history. The HJ Rose de Mai launch is an important one, marking the debut of Collection de l'Atelier, a limited-edition trio of fragrances made from the flowers grown on the maison's own farm in the south of France.

Antonin's presence marks the participation of yet another Cremona son in the family business. He follows in the footsteps of his brother, Sacha, and his mother, both of whom are at the launch, not to mention his mother's cousins - Alexandre and Amanda Mille - the children of watchmaker Richard Mille who are taking the helm of the brand. Anne-Lise had saved Henry Jacques, the bespoke parfumerie her parents had built, from ruin when she took the reins in 2011.

Having moved to Paris in her 20s and established a career in major perfume groups, Cremona was able to introduce commercial considerations into a boutique business model. Her vision for Henry Jacques was extremely clear, she emphasises: It had to grow beyond producing bespoke perfume for an elite clientele, which was too limiting and unstable, yet remain uber luxurious and rare.

This means controlling the quality, production and distribution of its creations.

Today, Henry Jacques fragrances are only available in its boutiques in London - it first opened at Harrods' Salon de Parfums in 2014 - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Doha, Dubai, Paris and Beverly Hills.

The shops are specially designed to resemble sumptuous living rooms.