Undercover, the "cult label" of designer Jun Takahashi, has launched a debut duo of fragrances with Comme des Garçons:
Holygrace (shown above) ~ "a perfume of elegance, soap freshness and poison", featuring notes of bergamot, ginger and pepper.
Holygrapie (shown below) ~ "this perfume reflects the smell of babies, kindness and sensuality."
Comme des Garçons + Undercover Holygrace and Holygrapie are available in 50 ml Eau de Toilette, and can be found now for pre-order at Colette in Paris. (via colette.fr)
Update: see reviews of Holygrace and Holygrapie.
These are CdG? They look so cute and vintage and un-CdG! I love the sound of ‘Babies, kindness and sensuality’ – throw in a giggle note and it would be my dream scent…
Well, the brand is Undercover (same sort of collaborations as they did with Daphne Guinness, Stephen Jones, etc). And sorry to say I know just about nothing about Undercover as a brand except that it’s supposed to be terribly hip. Here’s an article about “the graces” that presumably inspired the first scent:
http://seaofshoes.typepad.com/sea_of_shoes/2009/06/jun-takahashis-graces.html
Huh.
“Terribly hip” = Not me, I suppose.
I’m rather sure the clothes aren’t me, but terribly hip perfumes: might well be!
Goodness, ‘hip’ is the word! Doesn’t quite seem to fit with the Victoriana packaging, though.
Maybe the packaging is tongue-in-cheek. As I said, I know little about the brand, so most of this is going over my head.
They are just so un-CdG that I adore them! they look so un-CdG that it’s just so CdG, You know what I mean? CdG is weird and suprising as always… Holy Grace sounds sooooo me, I love bergamot, ginger and pepper. Holy Grapie sounds… just so cute I cant resist trying them both!!! I cant wait til they make their way over here!!!
But again, see above — they aren’t really CdG-branded fragrances. When I announce CdG collaborations I include the CdG brand in the announcement only because I know people are more interested in the fragrance if they know CdG made it…but presumably the bottle design is by Jun Takahashi.
Well I can just say that I love Comme des Garcons even for their choices in their collaborations, You know what I mean? They would never collaborate with some commercial brand, making boribng, typical perfumes… Two thumbs up again, Comme Des Garcons is just simply the best for giving a chance to such small, but interesting brands!
Agree wholeheartedly!
Holygrapie? I suppose Ninfeo Mio is no longer the worst named recent release now. Plus babies and sensuality just seems like a rather peculiar mix.
Cute packaging though!
Holygrapie is an incredible name — wish I knew what it meant.
Seems like a play on words to me between: 1) Holy- (as in Godly) -graphie (as in the root “graphus” for writing or that which is written and 2) more literally, holography (from which holograms are derived.
Probably.
Yeah, actually “babies and sensuality” creeped me out.
Bleh.
ME THREE! I don’t want pedophilic associations with perfume, thank you very much!
But sensuality isn’t the same as sexuality, they are not necessarily related at all. Unlike, say, sexuality and babies (and I’m thinking of procreation here, not paedophilia).
Anyway, I’m not bothered at all, although I get the feeling that the fragrance might not be all that interesting. Will probably smell them regardless, though, since it’s CdG.
I do wish we could submit REAL launch copy for the Prix Eau Faux.
Elegance, freshness, and poison? Holygrapie? HUH-WHA…?
Oh, I guess this bit from Colette helps (maybe): “Jun Takahashi created the Holygrace and Holygraphie perfumes drawing inspiration from its creature GRACE and his child GRAPIE !”
Smell of babies reminds me of a silly comment on PP once where someone said they thought Cuir de Russie smelled like “Baby Skin”… which elicited comment shrieks from some readers.
(Somebody named a helpless innocent child Grapie?) I too find the ad copy bizarre, although as always it might be partly the translation…
Baby skin, ON BABIES, is a fabulous smell. But I understand the implication that made everybody freak out – if you’re talking about a leather fragrance and you say it reminds you of baby skin, people wonder.
That does give me pause for thought.
I don’t think that refers to a real baby. The Grace thing relates to dolls he makes.
Yes. Via Google:
http://hypebeast.com/2009/04/jun-takahashi-undercover-grace-exhibition-recap/
I’m still not sure what the Grapie connection is, but this is all sort of too hip for me. I’m slightly curious to smell this only because of CdG
Same here.
those stuffed animal/biped things frighten me…..
Besides I’m more hippy than hip.
I first read that (over a half hour ago) as 60s hippy-ish, but that’s NOT at all what you meant, is it?
I’m with Joe re: the ad copy. When I see “soap freshness” and “babies” I think of philosophy baby grace though the notes read differently. I do like many of the CdG collaborations and trust that they are not going to release soporific pablum for the masses. I’ve never heard of Undercover but that is a reflection of my hipness, not theirs. If I purchased fragrance based on the hipitude of my wardrobe designers I would barely get beyond the t-shirt selection at the gap.
LOL…I might not even make it up to Gap level.
Hats off to Comme des Garcons again. Unfortunately, Daphne and I did not get along at all, but I admired it for the unique and heady fragrance it is. As long as Holygrapie doesn’t smell like Clean Baby Girl (which just smelled waaay too much like A&D diaper ointment, thus granting me way too much reality when I put it on) I’ll be anxious to try it. And Holygrace’s bergamot, ginger and pepper? Wheee! I’m loving the idea already.
I did not love Daphne, but I liked both Monocle scents and the Stephen Jones. So far, I’d say they’ve done a great job with these collaborations.
They sound so unlike CDG, which is the point, of course. But “babies, kindness and sensuality” sends the slightest creep of ick down my spine. Make a sentence with those three words and see where it goes. Or maybe we should just chant One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong. . .
Given the whole picture here, I’m not creeped out at all.
I read CdG and thought – Oh great, more interesting stuff coming! Then I saw soap and they lost me here… Then I saw babies and they REALLY lost me here.
Whoever would want to PREORDER this?!?!
Probably lots of fans of Jun Takahashi.
What on earth would the scent of kindness smell like…?
Chocolate & money?
Homemade bread!