Acqua di Parma's La Caletta collection features a fragrance crafted with artisanal techniques – it involves citrus peels, sea sponges and terracotta pots
The collection includes two scents and a trio of candles
Quick Summary
Acqua di Parma has unveiled its summer collection.
In among the range is a fragrance which uses an ancient, artisanal extraction technique.
With Acqua di Parma celebrating 110 years in the business this year, there's certain to be no shortage of special launches. We've already seen the launch of Colonia Il Profumo Millesimato, which utilised a specific harvest of the Ylang Ylang plant.
Now, the brand has unveiled its summer collection, complete with one fragrance which utilises a bizarre technique in its creation. Called Bergamotto La Spugnatura, and it's the last part of that name which is important here.
The La Spugnatura technique is an ancient, artisan technique used to extract citrus essence. In essence, the peels are hand-pressed into a sea sponge, before being extracted into terracotta pots, to ensure depth and nuance.
It's an extreme measure, but one which perfectly summarises the lengths to which the brand will go for perfect fragrance. You won't find techniques like this used everyday.
The whole collection was designed with Laura Gonzalez – an interior architect renowned for her 'chic mix-and-match' style. Her recent work includes the Cartier Mansion in New York and the Hotel Saint James in Paris, among others.
Elsewhere in the range, we find the brand's Fico di Amalfi scent reimagined with a limited edition bottle. There are also a trio of 200g candles available in three scents – Sorbetto Al Limone, Latte di Mandorla and Granita Al Gelso – plus a host of lifestyle goods like candle holders, a fan, and a tic tac toe game.
Priced at £236 (approx. €275 / US$315 / AU$445) for the headline La Spugnatura bottle and £156 (approx. €180 / US$210 / AU$295) for the Fico di Amalfi bottle, these fit into the pricing already well established in the brand's catalogue.
It's not cheap, but the best things in life rarely are. When you consider the attention to detail and the determination to continue ancient techniques to produce the very best artisanal scent, it's hard to argue with.
