Its powerful sweet scent, azure color, and uniquely designed bottle have made their mark on the world of perfumery. Thierry Mugler’s timeless Angel juice is still as successful thirty years after its launch. Here are five things you should know about this iconic scent.
Olivier Cresp, the master perfumer, worked for two years with Vera Strübi – former president of Thierry Mugler Parfums – and the fashion designer on the development.
Angel’s story begins in the early ’90s. Back then, Vera Strübi, a visionary, wanted to launch the first perfume signed by Mugler. She then asks several perfume houses to offer her their version of a juice that she wants strong.
She targeted ‘Patchou’, a very vanilla patchouli created by Olivier Cresp, a talented young perfumer then at Quest International. The duo works closely together day in and day out to find the perfect juice.
Unique, the “Angel” perfume bottle is immediately recognizable by its star shape with asymmetrical branches. It took two years of collaboration between the creator, master glassmakers of the House of Zignango Brosse, and the visual artist Jean-Jacques Urcun to close this case.
Why a star? This is Thierry Mugler’s lucky symbol. The creator ran away as a kid. He dreamed all night on the bench on the pitch, freezing cold, staring at the stars until the cops caught him. He was very unlucky but he always knew there was a star. He thinks everyone is born under a lucky star. You have to know how to recognize it, recognize your opportunity and seize it. Away once you’re on earth, it’s a godsend.
The “Mugler Fountain” was installed in perfumeries when the perfume was launched in 1992, making Angel the world’s first refillable perfume. This ingenious installation, inspired by 18th-century indoor perfume fountains, allows you to fill up your bottle endlessly. This approach above all aims to be ecological, since it saves significant amounts of metal, plastic, glass, and cardboard, all elements that make up the bottles.
A good bet, because every 25 seconds a Mugler bottle is refilled somewhere in the world.
An original concept for the time that continues to this day, even inspiring other brands. To take the eco-conscious approach even further, there have recently been “refill bottles” that can be used right at home.