Dries van Noten’s Soie Malaquais gets a porcelain couture moment

Five one-of-a-kind bottles reimagine the cult fragrance through sculptural ceramic collage

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Dries Van Noten perfume bottle

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten)

Dries Van Noten perfume bottle

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten)

Dries van Noten first launched the eau de parfum Soie Malaquais in 2022. Created in partnership with perfumer Marie Salamagne, the formulation of Soie Malaquais lists notes of blac currant, bergamot, cacao, silk and roses. “The most striking note is the chestnut,” says Dutch artist Bouke De Vries. “It’s so rich and warm and it reminds me of when I first got to London in the winter and there would be people roasting chestnuts on a brazier creating the evocative smell of chestnuts .”

Dries Van Noten perfume bottle

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten)

Born in Utrecht, Netherlands, De Vries trained at the Design Academy Eindhoven and in London, at Central Saint Martins. Following a period of working with fashion designers including John Galliano and Zandra Rhodes, De Vries changed tact somewhat, specialising in the conservation and restoration of ceramics. And he continues to work with ceramics to today, which led Dries van Noten to partner with him. Five masterpiece bottles of Soie Malaquais are the result of the collaboration, rendered in De Vries’ signature collage of ceramic fragments. “The fragments I use are from everywhere, they are mostly 17th and 18th Century porcelain from China and Delft ware from the Netherlands. These are all things I have collected over the years,” explains De Vries.

Dries Van Noten perfume bottle

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten)

“For this project, it wasn’t just the fragrance itself that directly inspired the work, but mainly the blue-and-white porcelain element of the bottle,” he continues, describing the scent’s Delft ware influenced flacon. “The Dries van Noten team felt that this detail, belonging to their iconic Soie Malaquais, resonated strongly with my style, providing an opportunity to take a fresh and distinctive approach to the bottle design.”

Dries Van Noten perfume bottle

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten)

One particular De Vries Soie Malaquais vessel is festooned with a rose-like arrangement, ceramic shards fanning out like a circle of petals. “The idea was that roses grow well in clay soil,” De Vries explains. “Clay was also used to make these porcelain objects, the fragments of which I then used to grow my own rose.”

Felix Bischof
Felix Bischof

Felix Bischof is the executive editor of The Blend. A contributor to HTSI, British Vogue, Pop and Vanity Fair, he has also worked with brands such as Dior, Piaget and Herzog & de Meuron.