The most beautiful perfume bottles ... LALIQUE & MAGRITTE introduce: A Surrealist Encounter in Crystal “La Valse Hésitation”

Elsa Schiaparelli, who will be the subject of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2026, was ahead of her time writes Louisa McKenzie in The Times. In 1927 the avant-garde, Rome-born couturier founded a fashion house defined by bold, surrealist-inspired creations that are reflected in the house’s recent revival under Daniel Roseberry.

Carrying on the surrealist theme is a launch from Lalique inspired by the Belgian artist René Magritte’s 1950 work La valse hésitation. Known for his pipes, bowler hats and apples, Magritte’s work is always wry and dreamlike. La valse hésitation (alluding to a type of waltz that sees participants pause momentarily) is no exception. It depicts two green apples — the only signs of life in a flat, arid, barren landscape — wearing carnival masks. The latest of Lalique’s art and fragrance pairings which include Zaha Hadid, James Turrell, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Elton John interprets this as a symbol of hidden realities, producing a single masked apple that mixes transparency and satin finish, light and texture, clear glass and coloured (£2,100). Available in a numbered edition of only 250 pieces, each bottle is handcrafted at Lalique’s workshops in Alsace and filled with an extrait de parfum, by the perfumer Véronique Nyberg, with notes of pink pepper, ginger, shiso, jasmine absolute and musk.

A sculptural object of desire merges French artisanal excellence with Magritte’s iconic artistic language, inviting collectors and aesthetes to rediscover the unseen through crystal and scent.

FULL COLLABORATION

The Magritte Foundation and Lalique celebrated in 2023 the 125th anniversary of René Magritte's birth. On the initiative of the Magritte Foundation, the enigmatic and poetic world of René Magritte was captured in crystal sculptures. Mention the name of Magritte today and the first images that spring to mind are a pipe, an apple and a bowler hat. It is precisely because of the prominence and iconic nature of these objects in the artist’s oeuvre that Lalique chose to recreate them in crystal. La Valse Hésitation is joining the extraordinary collection.

Based on René Magritte’s artwork, La Valse Hésitation, 1950 © C.H., ADAGP Paris 2023 will be available from July, 2025, at select Lalique boutiques, and for order online on Lalique.com.