We’ve long had a soft spot for Haeckels, the sustainable skincare brand that won a Wallpaper* Design Award last year for its mycelium packaging, created the first ever grown-to-order face masks, and has generally revolutionised the skincare industry with its use of seaweed, ocean mud, and other marine-based formulations. 

We hold a particular admiration for Browns too, the renowned London-based retailer of cutting-edge fashion, which it sells through an innovative combination of bricks-and-mortar retail and digital shopping experiences. So we were more than happy to hear that these two dynamic forces were coming together for a limited-time project.

Haeckels x Browns

Haeckels products specifically made for Browns London in brown bottles
Haeckels’ bespoke facials at Browns feature products specifically made for the space

Until 15 August 2021, Haeckels will be offering bespoke facials at Browns’ Brook Street location as part of the store’s Parlour residencies. The facials will feature familiar tools such as microcurrent technology, LED light therapy, and gua sha, along with treatments made specifically for Browns, including oxygen infusions and algae serums. 

The new Haeckels treatments and corresponding products have been directly inspired by the Brook Street space. ’We’ve studied the history of the space, helped by the Browns team,’ explains founder Dom Bridges. 

Haeckels founder Dom Bridges at Browns London making products for bespoke facials
Haeckels’ founder Dom Bridges making products for the Browns residency 

‘For me, it’s a genuine love affair with the store. I’m a huge fan of the original designer Nancy Lancaster and also Dimore Studio,’ he says (Lancaster owned interior decorating firm Colefax and Fowler, headquartered in the space from the 1940s to 2017, while Dimore Studio came up with the design concept for Browns). 

‘We only use what is present – why would you bring something in if a real presence or inspiration can come from the very walls themselves? The beauty is there; for example, the candle packaging is a shot of the original wallpaper found in a key room within the store; the base structure of the scent used in the candles is a rotary distillation of a clipping collage from the central garden.’ 

Bridges with products designed for the bespoke facials at Browns

The collaboration has also inspired a new Haeckels fragrance, entitled 39 Brook Street. The fragrance is made from clippings gathered in Haeckels’ hometown, Margate, and features notes of tulips, cherry blossom, fern, and English ivy. 

Select clients can even have Bridges design a unique fragrance just for them. It comes with a hefty price tag, starting at £1,250 for a 100ml bottle, but you’d be one of few people to have a tailor-made Haeckels scent.  §