So, Le Labo has done a collection for Anthropologie.1 On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Le Labo’s aesthetic, shown in its heavy bottles mimicking apothecary jars and labeled with a font reminiscent of an old typewriter, dovetails nicely with Anthropologie’s tidy-bohemian image. A bottle of Le Labo Iris 39 would be right at home on a bureau adorned with Anthropologie’s “antique” drawer knobs. Plus, a high-end designer working with a mall-type store can be a raging success. Look at all the fashion designers who put together sell-out collections for H&M.
But in the case of Le Labo’s venture with Anthropologie, I have to wonder if Le Labo merely phoned this one in. Even the line’s packaging is a little shoddy. Sniffing my way through the Le Labo + Anthropologie collection, I miss Le Labo’s usual offbeat take on a fragrance. Sure, Bouquet Blanc is a heady white floral, but so are a dozen others — most notably Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower. Poudre d’Orient is an easy and warm powdery amber, but I’d recommend Kenzo Flower Oriental instead. Orange Discrète? A pretty orange more aldehydic than juicy. Go get Fendi Theorama. Chant de Bois? A fine wood in the two-by-four mold, but not so fine or interesting as too many others to list. Belle du Soir, on the other hand, is the one Le Labo + Anthropologie fragrance that hints at the who-cares-what-you-think attitude I love from Le Labo…
