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Not all perfumes arrive wrapped in florals or glistening fruits. Some, like this olfactory creation from Hermès, titled Paddock, come clothed in saddle leather, sweet hay and the earthy poetry of manure. Yes, manure. And it’s “delightful”, as Creative Director of Hermès Perfumes describes it.
Christine isn’t afraid to get her boots dirty. The inspiration for her eau de parfum didn’t emerge from a manicured garden in Grasse, but from the visceral, nostalgic heart of the stables. Specifically, from a quiet, intimate moment backstage at Le Saut Hermès, the brand’s annual showjumping event held beneath the glass canopy of the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris.
It was there that Christine met Hermès Ryan, a majestic horse with the kind of presence that lingers, not just in your mind but in scent. Riders, she observed, often hesitate to change out of their riding clothes after a lesson, keen to cling to the unmistakable perfume of the stables: warm, smoky, mineral, and oddly comforting. This ephemeral blend of horse, straw, leather, oats, and—yes—manure, became the focus of her challenge. Could it be captured, distilled, and reimagined in a bottle? For her, it was a definite yes.
The result is a fragrance that rides the line between equestrian ritual and perfumery. There’s the tang of Stockholm tar used for hooves, the waxed sheen of stirrup leathers, the powdered sweetness of barley treats, the vegetal crunch of hay, and the slightly smoky, botanical notes of cade oil.
For Christine, this wasn’t about creating a novelty scent or indulging in provocation. This was about reverence. Like Proust’s madeleine, the fragrance is a portal, a sensory trigger that awakens a world of memory, nostalgia and deep emotion for anyone who’s ever set foot in a stable or found beauty in unexpected places.
As the realm of perfumery is saturated with expected, sanitised and often repeated notes, the French luxury house is clearly not afraid to break out of the norm and lean into the dirt, leather, and the unpoised truth of nature for inspiration. And somehow, in doing so, it’s never smelt more elegant.
