Serge Lutens

Serge Lutens is a French fragrance and makeup house named after its founder, the makeup artist, photographer and perfume creator Serge Lutens (born 1942 in Lille). The fragrances that carry his name grew out of a long collaboration with the Japanese group Shiseido and have been sold under the Serge Lutens brand since 2000 [5]. The house is today owned by Shiseido, which lists it within its Prestige portfolio [2].

The brand centres on perfume — Shiseido counts more than 80 fragrances in the line — alongside a smaller makeup range and body-care products. It is positioned in the luxury and niche-perfumery segment and sold through more than 1,000 points of sale worldwide [2].

Serge Lutens trained from a young age in beauty and image-making. Who What Wear notes that he moved in the circles of photographers such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn early in his career, and Wikipedia records that Vogue hired him in 1962 to create makeup, hair and jewellery after he arrived in Paris. In 1967 Christian Dior commissioned him to create the house's first makeup line. During the 1980s he helped introduce Shiseido to international markets.

His work in fragrance began under Shiseido rather than under his own name. According to The Perfume Society, Lutens created his first perfume, Nombre Noir, for Shiseido in 1982 [6]. He later described his aim as an effort "to bring authenticity back to perfume… and be a little bit off the beaten track" [6].

The date the house considers its founding is not entirely settled across sources. Shiseido's corporate page frames the creation of the standalone "Serge Lutens" brand as 2000, and Wikipedia likewise states that "in 2000, Lutens launched his own brand, Parfums-Beauté Serge Lutens" [5]. An earlier milestone sometimes cited is 1992, the year the Salons du Palais Royal opened in Paris and the fragrance Féminité du Bois was released; those fragrances originally appeared under the Shiseido-era line "Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido" before carrying Lutens's own name from 2000 [6]. The 2000 date is used here as the brand's founding, with 1982 and 1992 treated as pre-brand milestones.

A makeup collection, Nécessaire de beauté, followed in 2005. In 2014 the house unveiled the Section d'Or collection.

Serge Lutens is owned by Shiseido Company, Limited, which places it in the Prestige tier of its brand portfolio [2]. Sister brands within the wider Shiseido group include Clé de Peau Beauté, NARS, Drunk Elephant, Narciso Rodriguez and the Issey Miyake fragrance line.

The house positions itself against what it calls standardised perfumery. On its Shiseido corporate profile the brand describes its approach in the words: "Far from the standardized speeches delivering the perfume like a cooking recipe, it chooses to express another voice: that of emotion" [2]. Singularity, emotion, authenticity and non-conformity recur as stated values.

Editorial coverage places the fragrances in a French tradition inflected by North Africa. Who What Wear describes them as "made in France but inspired by the rich aromas of Morocco" [7]. Lutens has long been associated with Marrakech, where both Wikipedia and The Perfume Society report he lives.

Perfume is the core of the range. Recurring signature scents include Ambre Sultan, Un Bois Vanille, Tubéreuse Criminelle and Cuir Mauresque, the last built around leather accords. Féminité du Bois, first created for Shiseido, is credited with introducing the idea of "feminine woods" in perfumery [7]. Beyond fragrance, the line extends to the Nécessaire de beauté makeup collection and body-care products.

Between 2001 and 2004 the house won the Fragrance Foundation's FiFi Award for Best Original Concept in four consecutive years [5]. Its fragrances have also drawn press coverage, including a Who What Wear feature on the range, and Fleurs d'Oranger has been noted as a scent worn by Kate Moss [7].

Serge Lutens is an active, Shiseido-owned house rather than an independent company [2]. It maintains a multi-language e-commerce presence and current collections such as Matin Lutens, and Shiseido reports distribution across more than 1,000 doors worldwide.