Last night in Paris, Jun Takahashi of UNDERCOVER hosted the official launch of two fragrances at the L’Eclaireur boutique in the Marais. In an intimate reception with press, buyers and friends, the two new perfumes were displayed in the front window of the space in clusters of bell jars and cages – surrounded by the customised Grace dolls that have become synonymous with UNDERCOVER and their fantastical, alien world.

The perfume bottles themselves envisage a feminine, child-like kitsch, with a floral motif encircled by a golden wreath, framing the pink and yellow toned liquids. Limited edition bottles were decorated with a cream woolen cover embroidered with pearls and enrcusted with diamantes, as little extensions of the aesthetic of  the Grace dolls. The outer packagings bear the slogan “Grace of industry and luster of ashes.”

The scents, produced by Comme Des Garçons Fragrances, harbour an undeniable sweetness, both playing off each other with Jun Takahashi’s idea of the Mother Grace and the child Grace dolls who inspire the scents. ‘Holygrace’, the mother, is described as “along the lines of elegance, soap, freshness and poison (with notes of bergamot, ginger and pepper)”. ‘Holygrapie’, the child, is said to “reflect the smell of babies, kindness, sensuality and spice.”

The interior of the store was given a full UNDERCOVER treatment, utilising the video screens that dot the textured walls of the store to display the animated ‘Gilapple’, the film we first saw screened at their Pitti Immagine event last June. The digitally animated Grace dolls glide across cosmic gardens and loom over imagined cities, swishing their furry tails and blinking their flashlight faces as though on a constant search.

As a highlight of the evening, Jun Takahashi performed one of his rare doll-making sessions, creating a Grace doll in front of our very eyes, to the industrial musical accompaniment of Mr. Kan Takagi at the DJ booth. Surrounded by the abstract wooden archways within L’Eclaireur, the performance was far more intimate than the last one we witnessed in Florence last year.

Cutting up teddy bears, sewing and electrifying the doll with a bicycle lamp as the face, Jun (wearing grey) kept the audience amused for an hour long session, proving that to witness their creation is as thought-provoking and mystical as their final products.

In all, a wonderful event that surely touched upon the intimate yet magical world of UNDERCOVER – a mix of the scientific and the fantastical, the hard and soft, the violent and the peaceful.