Diptyque’s Gorgeous New Home Collection Will Light Up Your Life
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In a sea of scented candles, one brand consistently floats to the top: Diptyque, the French maison whose $72 classic version comes in ethereal scents like Fig Tree, Tuberose, and Wood Fire. Visit the original boutique on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris and a fascinating fact emerges: When Diptyque was founded in 1961 there was not a single candle on the shelves. The founders—a trio of global nomads and artists from France and England—originally made a splash with a bazaar-like shop filled with home goods, fabric, wallpaper, and objects from their travels. The scented candles came later—and only after potpourri proved a hit.
“The brand is completely fascinating,” says Sam Baron, a French designer who works with such brands as Dior Maison, Pierre Frey, and Tai Ping, and who was tapped to curate a new home accessories line for Diptyque. “The founders did wonderful window displays with a mix and match of things from all over. This was really unique in France in the early 1960s, which was still a very classical moment.”
Two years ago, Baron had a serendipitous meeting at an art gallery opening with Myriam Badault, Diptyque’s director of product design, who had worked with the founders and curated a mini museum of company lore upstairs at the boutique at 34 Saint-Germain. They chatted about how to expand the brand’s burgeoning home collection by linking it to its history. “We tapped Sam to help develop the language and style of the collection,” says Badault, noting that Diptyque has a long history of collaborating with artists and designers.
The result, Simple Object, which launched this week with the first of four seasonal collections. Baron designed some of the objects himself and, together with Badault, chose other artisans for the collaboration, including Samuel Accoceberry, Cécile Bichon, Nicolas Mareau, and Gianpaolo Pagni. The starting point, Baron explains, is Diptyque’s most recognizable commodity: the candle. “It’s elegant but simple,” he notes. “There is the wax, the thread, the glass container, and wood in the matches used to light it.”
Those elements became the starting point for a new collection that includes turned-wood candle pedestals, swirled glass match holders, and a trompe l’oeil vase that resembles alabaster but is actually made of wax (and holds water). “Throughout the collection, decorative objects break down the elements of the candle while playing with the shapes we associate with the maison, such as the legendary oval logo,” Badault says.
Later this year, Simple Object will incorporate pieces made by Bernardaud and Portuguese wax producer Manulena. “It’s about curated simplicity,” Baron says. “We’re writing a story about Diptyque and going back to their roots.”
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