By Pameyla Cambe

Transport Yourself to the Era of a ’60s French Icon With Celine’s New Perfume, Zouzou

The new Celine Haute Parfumerie campaign stars a fresh-faced Esther-Rose McGregor.
Esther-Rose McGregor is the face of the new Celine Zouzou fragrance
Esther-Rose McGregor is the face of the new Celine Zouzou fragrance

While Celine’s Winter 2024 collection lets you dress like a ‘60s star, the luxury brand’s new perfume, Zouzou, will make you smell like one. The fragrance is the latest addition to Celine’s Haute Parfumerie line, a collection of perfumes conceived by creative director Hedi Slimane. 

“Zouzou” is a French nickname that was used for young women with short hair. Similarly, Celine’s new fragrance is inspired by such women, especially French New Wave icons. In a statement, Slimane shares, “I wished to create a perfume about utopic adolescence, capturing an ideal of eternal youth. The recklessness of young French writer Françoise Sagan, the ingénue boyishness of Jean Seberg filmed by Jean-Luc Godard, the magnificent heroines of The Velvet Underground, together with the young women I was able to photograph for more than 20 years.”

Speaking of which, Slimane has photographed Esther-Rose McGregor in a new campaign for Celine’s Zouzou fragrance. The fresh-faced actress, with her pixie haircut and bold eyeliner, perfectly embodies the spirit of a Parisian girl—the kind that featured heavily in Godard’s films in the ‘60s, which Slimane grew up with.

In that vein, Zouzou leans on the sweeter side: the amber fragrance comprises notes of benzoin, vanilla, patchouli and tonka bean. Celine lists Zouzou as a daytime scent, along with other fragrances from the Haute Parfumerie collection, such as Dans Paris, Parade and La Peau Nue.

Zouzou is the 12th fragrance in Celine’s Haute Parfumerie collection
Zouzou is the 12th fragrance in Celine’s Haute Parfumerie collection

Zouzou was first teased in Celine’s Winter 2024 collection film, L’Arc De Triomphe. The film unveiled Slimane’s ‘60s-inspired collection of perfectly cut cropped jackets, miniskirts and A-line dresses. The spirit of the Swinging Sixties was also reflected in the models’ beauty looks, which featured statement eye makeup. Aside from Zouzou, the film also offered a glimpse of Celine’s upcoming lipstick collection, Rouge Celine, which will launch in 2025. In the film, models wore the “La Peau Nue” lipstick, one of the 15 shades from the collection. Celine will release another lipstick shade, “Rouge Triomphe”, later this year. 

Zouzou will be available even sooner. Fragrance fans can get their hands on Celine’s new perfume in June 2024, when it launches in Celine stores and on celine.com. Below, get a closer look at the upcoming fragrance.

This story originally appeared on GRAZIA Singapore.