Beguiling simplicity

Achim Meissner

This is a perfumery. That, presumably, is what the staff of this London fragrance boutique must often assure those bewildered customers who believe they have stepped into an art gallery. The Illuminum perfumery in London welcomes its clientele in a shop that breaks entirely with the purchasing and visual habits of the luxury world. In the salesroom, designed by the Sicily‑based architect Antonino Cardillo, the costly fragrances hang from the ceiling in mouth‑blown glass globes. There are no shelves, no packaging, no labels. The grey walls, roughly plastered with Italian volcanic ash, seem to absorb all distracting acoustic and visual stimuli. During the purchase, the customer is accompanied by a member of staff who decants the selected essences into a flacon and carries it to the till on a tray. And one more thing: you will not find price tags here either.

• Achim Meissner, ‘Betörende Schlichtheit’, handelsjournal, no. 9/15, Düsseldorf, Sept. 2015, pp. 6‑7 [German].