What does Jil Sander’s new perfume collection smell like?

Jil Sander’s premium fragrance collection, Olfactory Series 1, has just landed. The edit of six perfumes – conceived by creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier alongside some of the industry’s most esteemed noses – marks another new chapter for the brand, which expanded its remit of ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and accessories to include fine jewellery last month (December 2024).

Championing the minimalist codes established by Jil Sander, who founded her namesake fashion line in 1968, Olfactory Series 1 takes inspiration from the finishing touches on a piece of clothing. ‘At Jil Sander precious details are sometimes hidden; intended for the wearer only,’ says the brand in a statement, referencing the inside of a cuff. ‘Who does not remember, and wear, something for its smell or touch, rather than for the way it looks?’

Olfactory Series 1 also celebrates Jil Sander’s long-standing partnership with Coty. The French beauty giant has worked with the label since inaugurating its fragrance line in 1979 with Pure; a chypre scent contained in a bottle designed by Peter Schmidt. In the case of Olfactory Series 1, Formafantasma (a design practice now featured in the Wallpaper* 2025 Design Awards issue) conducted a series of experiments alongside artisanal glassmakers before arriving at the final bottle: an asymmetrical, bell-like shape housed in a white aluminium cloche.

Each of the new perfumes – titled Leaf, Miel, Black Tea, Earth, Coffea, and Smoke – has been stripped down to just a few essential ingredients. This includes CO2-extracted natural oils, synthetic aldehydes to act as ‘sparks of light flashing through the fragrances’, water and a blend of alcohols (some of which are derived from upcycled carbon emissions). From the aroma of petrichor to a freshly picked heirloom tomato, read more on how each of them smells below.

What does Jil Sander’s new perfume collection smell like?

1. Leaf

Leaf, by nose Julie Massé, is a zesty, verdant and fresh scent capturing the ‘remembrance of a freshly picked Black Krim tomato, fruit and leaves, in a Mediterranean garden.’ The aldehydic element combines lime, CO2-extracted cardamom and the cooling sparkle of mint.

2. Miel

For Jil Sander’s Miel, Mathilde Bijaoui has created a woody composition, with the essence of upcycled cedarwood and vetiver. The inclusion of CO2-extracted jasmine provides honeyed sweetness via a radiant and heady floral burst.

3. Black Tea

A contemporary take on an amber perfume, Nathalie Lorson’s Black Tea is spicy and intense, with the warmth of osmanthus and cinnamon. The black tea is CO2 extracted, which obtains ‘a pitch as close as possible to its natural note’.

4. Earth

‘The smell after the rain, small puddles of water, the first memory of a Matsutake mushroom, the generosity of the Earth,’ is how Jil Sander describes Earth, a perfume also by Julie Massé. Here, two different types of rose meet with the Matsutake, alongside patchouli leaves.

5. Coffea

Paul Guerlain has captured the essence of freshly brewed coffee in Jil Sander’s Coffea, a floral amber perfume. The inclusion of orris and the resinous notes of Peru balsam, extracted from the Myroxylon tree, captures the feeling of bathing in early morning sunlight.

6. Smoke

Both intensely woody and spicy, Berenice Watteau’s Smoke gets its name from the perfume’s use of cedarwood, cade, elemi and oud. Enveloping and enigmatic, it evokes the comforting smell of freshly washed laundry ‘drying near a fireplace’.

jilsander.com