Online Exclusive: La Société Parisienne de Savons
Vintage labels bring cachet to the brand’s extensive new beauty offerings.
By Lisa Samalonis

Designer Daniel Pelavin likes a challenge and he got one when he and Stéphane Ouaknine partnered for

The line includes brightly colored and elegantly packaged soaps, face powder and other products.

the new retro-inspired La Sociéte Parisienne de Savons beauty line. Products come nestled in packaging with re-created vintage labeling that required overcoming numerous technical obstacles to ensure a cohesive and authentic look for the brand.

The line, from the French manufacturer, currently includes a variety of brightly colored and elegantly packaged soap, face powder, balm, candles, perfume, cologne, bath oil and air freshener, while others may follow, says Pelavin.

True Inspiration

Vintage labels collected over time proved to be elemental to the line. Ouaknine comes from a Parisian pharmacy family that goes back generations. Pelavin points out that while Ouaknine is a pharmacist by training, his “true vocation is that of a dreamer whose love of beauty and classic design” has led him to put his energy and resources into bringing about this product line.

“The labels come from a collection that Stéphane has acquired over the years although more than a few of them have been published in books without permission or attribution,” he explains.

Care was taken to secure permissions for the labels and it proved to be a long and winding way. They

Brilliant varnish paper was selected for the 3-foiled boxes for Maya, La Reine and Carmin.

consulted with lawyers who specialize in copyrights and intellectual property and they investigated the labels’ lineage. “We have had a close relationship with the Mormon people who helped us to track some heirs with their electronic records. Some of them were completely unaware that their heir was an artist,” Pelavin says. “Then we had another consultation with the INPI for registration at dépôt et modèles for France, and then at OMPI for worldwide registration of designs. So the process is complex, long, and it is a day-by-day work to keep the brand alive.”

Design Challenges

Despite the current global hi-tech society many people are drawn to the retro style. “The look of these products is something very difficult to accomplish in today’s world of focus groups, meetings and young MBAs whose opinions take precedence over artists. I think their appeal is that they have not had their eccentricities and personality “cleansed” in the marketing process,” says Pelavin.

Because the original designs were not reproduction quality, they only contained limited characters of the typography needed at the time. For example, pieces of old labels or small portions of early packages served as references. Therefore, all of the designs had to be re-proportioned in a variety of new shapes, and long obsolete rendering and printing techniques had to be emulated digitally. “Equal effort and experimentation was required to accomplish the manufacture of the packaging itself and assure that there was a baseline standard of appearance over a range of substrates and printing processes,” he explains.

Pelavin is an expert in this area. In the early 1970s, he apprenticed and worked with graphic arts

Daniel Pelavin digitally recreated vintage type.

professionals, including decorative, fashion, product and technical illustrators as well as letterers, typographers and designers, in art studios in Detroit. After completing his master of fine arts degree, he taught college courses in design, lettering and illustration before moving to New York City to pursue a career in art. Today his illustrations and typographic design are featured in publishing, advertising and communication design.

While 20 designs have been completed for the brand, a little more than half initially went into production. “The 12 in production are the first 12 that were completed,” Pelavin says, noting that he usually favors those designs which were most difficult to solve, such as Carmin and Cold Cream. “It has been a year since we began this project and the products will begin shipping in a few weeks.”

Packaging includes carded boxes for three-piece box soap; tin boxes for the bath soap; glassware opening mould for the perfume 30ml and 100ml; and plastic mould PET 250ml bottle. Mousseline paper is used to wrap the unit soap, and antique “soleil folding” is employed for the soaps. The 3-piece soaps are wrapped in silk paper. Matte varnish paper was used for the sticker paper. Brilliant varnish paper was selected for the three -foiled boxes for Maya, La Reine and Carmin.

Attracting Attention
La Sociéte Parisienne de Savons products will be sold on the company’s website and discussions are being held regarding retail sales in major department stores in Paris. In addition, the company is

Tin boxes are used for the bath soaps.

discussing distributorship with several U.S. luxury chains for shops and internet sales in the U.S. and Asia distribution via an agent in Hong Kong. A store in Paris may open by 2013 if everything goes well.

Pelavin notes that the company has received a very positive response on the web, several magazine articles and many blog repostings. “My favorite gauge of a good response is that we have been approached by, rather than having to solicit, buyers from several very desirable retail chains,” he says.