Dubai, UAE, September 28, 2016:   diptyque, the typically Parisian Maison, is opening a second location in Dubai, and specifically the prestigious Dubai Festival City. This boutique, the largest in the world devoted to the brand, presents a sober and refined décor imbued with a fresh interpretation of Oriental themes, and offers its world of balms, perfumed candles, fragrances and objects dedicated to them... Since the early sixties, diptyque has been distilling a unique, bold spirit, nourished by natural fragrances gathered worldwide, inspired by stories, by the precious memories that shape emotions.

The boutique is arranged in a long row steadily revealing the maison’s creations piece by piece, along with the exclusive articles reserved for it. A VIP lounge completes this large space, the layout of which preserves the intimate atmosphere typified by the first shop at 34 boulevard Saint Germain in Paris.

This is where its story began, where three friends with a passion and insatiable curiosity created a “chic bazaar” that quickly became a favourite with elegant Parisians. Christiane Gautrot, interior decorator, Desmond Knox-Leet, painter, and Yves Coueslant, theatre director and stage designer, loved travelling, unusual objects and essential fragrances. The 34 is a reflection of their aspirations, and fifty years later, has given rise to a collection. A fragrance underlies its origin, reviving the olfactory emotion one feels when crossing the threshold of 34. Insiders will recognise the great classics of the house, L’Ombre dans l’Eau, Do Son, Philosykos; the fragrance is complex, unusual, seductive. Other scents came later, like Essences insensées, Eau Mage, Ôponé… lanterns with metal embroidery, but also of ceramic and blown glass, scented candles, notebooks...

An arched doorway surrounded by a wooden lattice leads to the first part of this boutique. It is dedicated to the 34 Collection, a visual and olfactory narrative of all that constitutes the very essence of the art de vivre that diptyque seeks to create with the passage of time.

Then comes the world of the home, with candles, fragrance diffusers, scented ovals all shown next to each other... Entirely handmade, the scented candles offer about fifty fragrances that highlight a flower, a fruit, a herb, a tree, a spice, composing a range that is unique in the world. As for the diffusers, with the proprietary processes locked within these luxurious objects, each of them is the result of a technical innovation.

The eaux de toilette and eaux de parfum are presented alongside the personal care products in a room that is all gentle curves, illuminated by a chandelier created by the Apparatus design studio in New York in the form of a bountiful bunch of hand-frosted glass globes that offer a harmonious light, and which bears the evocative name of Cloud. Under this cloud, an “imaginary” tadelakt fountain dispenses a shower of porcelain “drops” whose milky roundness reflects the light above. This fountain has been created ceramist Syra Gomez. In the centre, there is a round table on which the fragrances are displayed. They speak of gardens, voyages, paths lined with flowers...incomparable testimonies to precious memories. The art of body and face care is based on the beauty rituals of the Mediterranean basin and Asia. Slow infusions, metamorphoses, fluidity...the textures melt under the fingers to become airy foams, sheer veils, milky emulsions...

The VIP area concludes this visit...and choosing becomes a moment of high privilege. Gold appears in its softest tones, and the hand-painted silk wall hangings reflect the golden rain from a chandelier made of a multitude of gold-leaf ellipses.

Thanks to the oval on its bottles and labels, its dancing letters and the use of black and white, diptyque is recognisable at first glance. And it is also a past master in the art of those rituals that make each visit a delightful interlude dedicated to the sharing of its secrets...

Here is a place planned as a succession of surprises, like the discovery of a way of life... And to extend this adventure even more, there is a wish tree to which drawings and visitor’s messages can be tied...

diptyque
Festival City, Ground Floor, Dubai, UAE
Phone: 04 251 4881
Weekdays 10am – 10pm / Weekends 10am – 12am