From Classic Lalique To The New Starck Version - A Look At All The L'Air Du Temps Bottles Since 1948.

It was announced a few days ago that the classic Nina Ricci perfume bottle for the L'Air du Temps fragrance spray has been redesigned by omnipresent designer Philippe Starck as a special limited edition.

This is not the first time the L'Air du Temps flacon has been redesigned. The original bottle design introduced in 1948, was made to emulate a sunburst and had a frosted glass insert in the top. Only 3 years later Robert Ricci had Rene Lalique of Lalique crystal design a bottle that has since become a classic. Numerous iterations of dove-topped bottles have appeared since then, culminating in the newest modern version by Philippe Starck.



Below are all the bottles produced for the fragrance, in chronological order.

The first L'air du Temps bottle, 1948:

In 1951 Lalique crystal created the now iconic bottle with the two frosted doves atop the swirled clear crystal flacon.

1951, Lalique bottle with 2 doves:

From 1951 to present, Lalique Crystal made numerous limited and special editions of the classic bottle which included variations on the number of doves, the color of the doves and the color of the bottle. The one anomaly? In 1996, Lalique made a winged version of the bottle that did not have the doves.

1955, single dove:

1991-1993, colored doves:

1996, winged bottle:

1998, globe bottle:

2004, gold bottle:

2005, amber bottle and doves:

2006, pearlized bottle:

2007, prestige bottles:

60th Anniversary bottle:

And most recently designer Philippe Starck has taken the symbolic two doves and abstracted them for the newest limited edition of the perfume and topped one of the wings with a silver cap.


The newest bottle called L'Air du Temps by Starck will be available as a 45ml spray launching in October 2010. This limited edition is reported to cost 69 EUR ($89).





About the perfume (from the Nina Ricci site):
L’air du temps - Nina Ricci Perfume


The icon fragrance from the Nina Ricci house was born in a creative and joyful spirit in 1948. The perfect harmony of an enchanting elixir, the symbol of femininity and eternal youth. the emblematic values of L'Air du Temps remain universal: Peace, Purity, Freedom and Love. L'Air du Temps is also the air that we breathe, the mood of the moment, the reflection of each era. L'Air du Temps… An unequalled moment of emotion.

Fragrance : Spicy Floral
This fresh and timeless fragrance is a unique combination of contrasts. The legendary accord of spicy carnation and gardenia is subtly tinged with rose and jasmine from Grasse and caressed with sandalwood and iris for even more sensuality. A fragrance of emotion, L’Air du Temps exudes a mysterious power of seduction. Its fragrance blends into the personality of each woman to bring out her sensual charm and refinement.

Buy L'Air du Temps products here

Nina Ricci
Philippe Starck
Lalique Crystal

Modern Residence By Thomas Laurens de Bakker Centers Around Unusual Staircase.

Thomas Laurens de Bakker is an Amsterdam based designer with great knowledge of production techniques and building materials. He has been running multifaceted design and building projects since 2000 under the name Thomas Laurens.


above: Industrial designer Thomas Laurens de Bakker

His self-described design style is that of contemporary design with organic influences and he feels that "environments should support the multitude of human emotions we might experience in our lives and give us room to find comfort for each state of mind alike."

One of his designs is this private residence, a two story home with an industrial minimalist appearance whose focal point is a very unique staircase:








Kitchen:


Bath:


Upstairs, the wood and brushed steel staircase has a glass enclosure:





Bertelmanstraat 61
1075 LV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
info@thomaslaurens.com

Saran Wrap Wigs & Dresses by Kate Cusack

You may have seen one or two of Kate Cusack's wigs making the rounds on various design blogs, but those are only part of this artist's collection of fashions made from plastic wrap. Kate uses very unusual materials in her costume designs, window displays and sculptural and wearable creations. Her recent and unique line of Zipper Jewelry has been getting some nice press and recently featured on Ecouterre were her Saran wrap wigs shot by photographer Kriistina Wilson.


above: Kate Cusack, photo by Tony Gale

Her saran wrap wig designs include those styled after ornate 17th century wigs and she even created a multi-tiered wedding cake wig. As you will see in the following images, she has also designed dresses using saran wrap and bubble wrap.

Please note that I have manipulated the following photos to remove some of the color saturation that made them difficult to see the details.

Saran wrap wigs created for Tiffany's 2002 window displays (including the one at the beginning of this post):





Her "I do" wedding cake wig made of saran wrap:




Another Saran wrap wig and gown:

She made a bubble wrap dress as well:

See more work by Kate Cusack here.