dsm-firmenich reimagines florals through art and fragrance tech

dsm-firmenich has unveiled Flowers Are Watching Us, an artistic and olfactive experience reimagining florals and exploring the connection between science, culture, and innovation.

The activation, which brings together dsm-firmenich’s perfumers and contemporary artists, was unveiled in Paris, France. It scrutinizes the traditional depictions of flowers in perfumery as static objects or cultural symbols, instead framing them as living beings that adapt and respond to their environment.

Featuring work by a series of artists from different disciplines, dsm-firmenich aims to create a “multi-sensory dialogue where fragrance and image become living media, reshaping how flowers are seen, experienced, and remembered.”

“With Flowers Are Watching Us, we wanted to question how we think about florals — not as something to reproduce, but as something to interpret and reimagine,” says Jonathan Simon, president of Global Fine Fragrance at dsm-firmenich.

“By bringing together our perfumers with leading artists, we are opening new creative territories and reaffirming our role in shaping the future of perfumery.”

The company is also showcasing various ingredients at the activation in the form of an exclusive fragrance, Fleur de Papier. The fragrance is created by principal perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie and perfumer Coralie Spicher, in collaboration with Jacquet. It features a new captive molecule, Heliobliss, Vulcanolide, and leverages Dried Ylang Flower Firgood and Evening Primrose NaturePrint technology.

Curating culture and scents

dsm-firmenich reimagines florals through art, fragrance, and science.

The activation centers a curated selection of photography that investigates the themes of impermanence, transformation, and the cross-section between humans and the natural world.

Furthermore, it features work by the French sculptor and designer Junior Fritz Jacquet, who tailored a site-specific, exclusive installation for dsm-firmenich. The installation plays with physical space and materiality through light, texture, and movement.

Another art medium featured by the activation is the abstract porcelain sculptures reimagining the flowers by Studio Ranarivelo, a duo from Madagascar based in Paris. The sculptures were inspired by floral signatures crafted by dsm-firmenich for historical fragrance pillars such as Anaïs Anaïs by Cacharel, Pleasures by Estée Lauder, Flower by Kenzo, and Good Girl Gone Bad by Kilian.

Building on floral heritage

Flowers Are Watching Us is an homage to dsm-firmenich’s floral perfumery innovation of over a century.

The company boasts a portfolio with products by floral perfume giants. Its first-ever molecule, Iralia, is featured in Guerlain’s Mitsouko and in Chanel N°5. Also in dsm-firmenich’s floral repertoire is Hedione, as seen in Dior’s Eau Sauvage and Estée Lauder’s Pleasures.

In modern solutions, the company underlines technologies such as Firgood extraction, NaturePrint capture, and new ingredients like Heliobliss, which drive innovation with “precision, sustainability, and creative freedom.”

This activation aims to showcase both dsm-firmenich’s heritage and its forward-looking vision — “positioning the company as a key architect of the next chapter in floral perfumery.”

The larger aspiration of the activation is to regard flowers past their literal interpretation and to manufacture bold, contemporary signatures that align with changing consumer desires within the perfumery landscape.

Following its launch in Paris, Flowers Are Watching Us will go international, with upcoming activations planned in cities such as Barcelona, Spain; São Paulo, Brazil; New York, US; and Shanghai, China.

Fragrance activations

The initiative connects fragrance creation with culture and visual art.

Earlier this month, dsm-firmenich also tapped the emerging “K-scent” whitespace with an installment of its flagship sensory experience, Sensorium. The Attention Seoul: Living (In)Visible experience invited customers, partners, and industry leaders in the region to explore how fragrance innovation impacts olfactory identity and emotion.

The company told Personal Care Insights about what differentiates K-scent from other fragrance landscapes and changing consumer expectations around fragrance performance.

Last year, dsm-firmenich launched Connect: Future You, a multi-sensory fragrance exhibition in Jakarta, Indonesia, designed to immerse visitors in the future of scent, identity, and innovation. The experience featured 22 new scents spanning fine fragrance, personal care, and home care applications, crafted by global and local perfumers.

In other industry players’ fragrance moves, Dataland, the world’s first omni-sensory Museum of AI Arts, opened in Los Angeles, US, last month. The Museum, co-founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç in collaboration with L’Oréal Luxe, contains five galleries spanning 25,000 square feet and boasting 1.5 billion pixels.