Together they developed a pair of scents inspired by the “two geographies of her life.” Paysandú, a nuanced floral named for the region in which Hearst grew up, includes the never-before-used-in-perfumery botanicals carqueja and marcela, harvested directly from her family ranch. The scent was designed to conjure Hearst’s country roots and weekend vibes. Its counterpart is New York, a woody blend with a smoky undercurrent of tobacco, patchouli, and palo santo. “On first smell, it feels very sexy, very strong,” says the designer, “like you put your armor on.” Bedel has produced a single batch of the two scents, and there are just 315 bottles of each.
“We’ll encourage people, if they like them, to buy more than one bottle,” says Hearst, “because when they’re gone they’re gone.” Bedel adds: “If we do decide to make more, the second batch could never be the same as the first because the botanicals themselves are different from season to season.” Either way, their plan flies in the face of a century of designer fragrance precedent, which is a global business built on mega-hits, not limited edition one-offs. For context, 10 million bottles of Chanel No. 5 are sold every year.
Also unique: Hearst and Bedel consider the new scents genderless. “As a teenager, I never subscribed to the idea that ‘this is a perfume for women, this is a perfume for men.’ We all know now, that’s all marketing, but I just didn’t get it,” Hearst says, pointing out that a fragrance by Chloé (where she has been the creative director since 2020) and XS Pour Homme by Paco Rabanne were two of her go-to’s as a young woman.
Hearst has always done exactly what she likes, a case in point being her very first handbag, the Nina, which she declined to sell at department stores or even on her own e-commerce site. Customers had to send an email if they wanted the bag, and before long she had a waitlist 100 names long. With such limited quantities, those curious about Paysandú and New York should move quickly, otherwise they might find themselves on a waitlist too.
The new fragrances will be available in September at Gabriela Hearst and Fueguia stores, as well as Bergdorf Goodman and Harrods.
