Meet Twilly d’Hermès, This Season’s Chicest Fragrance Launch

Named after the slender silk accessory that women often wrap around their wrist or bag handles, Hermès  Twilly d’Hermès (from $76) signifies what perfumer Christine Nagel describes as an untapped niche within the esteemed French luxury brand. “I was seeing young women who appreciated the codes of the maison but were doing different things with them,” she says. “The idea of twisting the classic carré [scarf] was interesting to me, and I thought that to please young women, perhaps I could work with raw materials that are at the foundation of the house and also twist the monument of perfumery to say something else.”

And what Nagel says with the scent is unmistakably upbeat and discreetly flirty. By extracting ginger while it’s still fresh (instead of dry, as is the common practice) and boosting its presence beyond the usual trace, she has nudged the familiar notes of tuberose and sandal­wood into a brighter register. The sweetness is surprising, yet the result is restrained. Nagel points out that this mirrors her perception of the house. “Once I finally started to settle in, I discovered a world far more original than I imagined from the exterior,” she says. “It was a world of fantasy and colour, and this was captured by the world of silk.”