It’s been just over a year since I’ve been exploring the artistry of Kilian, so this Spotlight feature feels almost overdue! A little background to begin…
Heir to the Hennessy throne, Kilian Hennessy began his career in the shadows of the iconic 18th-century family business. This heritage almost certainly guarantees a curated human with exceptional taste and innate understanding of luxury, which is undeniable once you explore the DNA of the brand.
Before graduating from CELSA, Kilian wrote a thesis on the semantics of scent, in search of a ‘language’ common to gods and mortals. This translates into the architecture of what is known today as Kilian, a fragrance house recently acquired by Estee Lauder. After graduating, he then went on to train with the greatest noses in the business including Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen and Armani.
Uniqueness is key in such a saturated market and Kilian, launched in 2007, pairs pop culture ideologies with luxury heritage and a sense of sweet provocation with every note with fragrance names include Back To Black (Amy Winehouse), Good Girl Gone Bad (Rihanna). Ten years on, the world of Kilian now includes more than 35 scents.
Today I wanted to Spotlight the latest fragrance, Black Phantom. Previous ones that I have worn include Back To Black and Straight To Heaven. With Black Phantom, you’ll experience a very sweet world, which is so unique on a non gender binary level with such a strong 2017 focus from other brands on a more “green” and “earthy” direction. Black Phantom features rum, sugar cane, dark chocolate, coffee, caramel, almond, heliotrope and sandalwood, which cohesively deliver a sensual and provocative experience with notes of timelessness and the desert.
To test it out yourself, I’d definitely recommend visiting the Kilian shop at 26 Burlington Arcade in London. Packaging is such an essential part of the experience and as you can see the box for Black Phantom is striking with an almost McQueen-esque skull box with lock and key – perfect for the top shelf of your fragrance collection.
