01 THE ART EDITION BY LI HONGBO
As the ultimate luxury from Guerlain, Orchidée Impériale Black The Cream is available in an astounding edition featuring the work of Chinese artist Li Hongbo, interpreted by the savoir-faire of porcelain artisans at Maison Bernardaud.
The remarkable combination of Guerlain’s most powerful technology in terms of skincare, the talent of the contemporary artist Li Hongbo interpreted as a spectacular sculpture and the luxury craft of Maison Bernardaud to enhance the jar for an astounding skincare product.
02 AN INSPIRED ARTIST
Guerlain reached out to Li Hongbo, an artist on the Chinese scene, who studied art in Jilin and Beijing, who has carved out a global reputation for his paper creations. Sculptor of matter, he carefully cuts out sheets of paper that he layers to produce a 3-D object, a shape with almost trompe-l'œil effects. When you touch it, it works its magic, fanning out like an accordion with careful precision.
03 A SPECTACULAR SCULPTURE
Inspired by the resilience of Black Orchids¹, Li Hongbo happened upon a link with the symbolism of paper: a capacity to adapt and a fragility harnessed as a force. In homage, he drew a blossoming flower with precisely detailed petals and a spectacular sculpture made of white paper to adorn the black jar for the cream.
To bring the orchids to life, thousands of sheets of paper were assembled to form a honeycomb structure, that’s sturdy yet flexible. Creating this kind of work can take one or two months, each step requiring careful polishing.
¹Cultivated Cycnoches cooperi.
04 A HAND-PAINTED JAR
To transpose Li Hongbo’s design onto the jar used for the cream, Guerlain collaborated with their special partner, Maison Bernardaud. A workshop that first opened in 1863 in Limoges, this family business has especially developed techniques for adding gold leaf to its porcelain. The Maître d’Atelier at Maison Bernardaud brought the artist’s original sketch to life by hand-painting the jars using 24-carat gold "grand-feu" painting.
05 A MASTERPIECE OF FINE COSMETICS
Created in 2016, La Crème Orchidée Impériale Black heralded a new vision in the art of skincare. An astounding cream, fine cosmetic care, rare and exclusive, the quintessence of research focusing on an orchid with exceptional powers.
06 A RARE, POWERFUL, ENDURING ORCHID
Selected from a choice of 30,000 species by experts from the Orchidarium, this orchid with its phenomenal capacity for adaptation was chosen by Guerlain scientists to develop cutting-edge technology. As a core feature of the Orchidée Impériale Black line, BlackImmune™ technology encapsulates the power of Black Orchids¹ to help protect the skin from ageing². This technology targets 95% of skin cells involved in the skin’s self-defence mechanisms ². The well-protected skin can then focus its resources on regeneration.
¹Cultivated Cycnoches cooperi. ²In vitro testing on ingredients.
