Leadnaija
Penhaligon’s has quickly become one of the most well-known brands in China’s niche fragrance category. Now it’s showcasing its 155-year history to its Chinese fanbase.
Penhaligon’s is a global fragrance brand with a 40-strong portfolio. Its immersive retrospective exhibition ‘Eau so British’ opened in Shanghai—the first stop in a series of global outings ensuring the brand is as relevant today as it was in 1870.
Running from March 28 to April 4, the event opened during Shanghai Fashion Week at the former residence of the comprador He Dong. In a unique partnership with Chinese artist He Xian, Penhaligon’s narrative was brought to life through traditional Chinese shadow puppetry, which acted as a backdrop to the retrospective. He Xian drew inspiration from Penhaligon’s very first scent Hammam Boutique to create The Birth of an English Legend—6 acts of light and shadow that portrayed how the original Mr. Penhaligon captured jasmine, lavender, and rose, essentially embarking on the brand’s 155 year journey. Penhaligon’s
A considered curation puts the fragrances at the heart of this first consumer-facing event in China. Woven around these, the story is told by 30 items of archival ephemera, including original bottles, heritage products, packaging, and artworks. Across multiple rooms, these document over a century of perfumery, social history, and branding. An audio guide enhances images from Penhaligon’s past and present.
China is a key location for fashion curation. Gucci—a regular exhibitor in China—also launched Bamboo at the same time: Decoding in March at the historical Sunke Villa. Alongside archive pieces, it features artworks from Sybil Montet and Yanran Chen. And ‘Eau so British’ was not the only China-first show opening at the time; Loro Piana’s ‘If You Know You Know’ at the Museum of Art Pudong was the house’s debut China exhibit also opened in March (coincidentally, the brand is celebrating 100 years.)
‘Eau so British’ coincided with Notes Shanghai, the perfume trade show recently added to the official Shanghai Fashion Week tradeshow schedule. It attracted over 10,000 industry professionals and enthusiasts from all over the world including the fragrance KOL and influencer Scarlett Pan@
Pan, who attended the exhibition opening, says Penhaligon’s reputation in China has been built on the Portraits collection, a line of quirky, humorous characters—what she describes as “fancy animal-head bottles with melodramatic backstories and British aristocratic vibes.” To cement their appeal among this new generation of fragrance enthusiasts, the exhibition introduced April’s release, Fortuitous Finley, which has been added to the Portraits collection. With notes of salted pistachio and the unique violet leaf, it joins other characters from the series such as Duchess Rose, Terrible Teddy, and Arthur—all among the best sellers in China.
“Young customers [here] really eat this up, and it makes the brand’s UK heritage, especially the connections with royalty, feel more tangible,” Pan explains. These nods to a long association with the British monarchy started in 1903 when Penhaligon’s was awarded its first Royal Warrant by the Queen Consort to King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra.
Despite only entering the market in 2021, Penhaligon’s has been quickly advancing in the Chinese market. It now has 24 stores in locations like Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Kunming, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. And while 2025 is an important marker for the historic brand globally, 2024 was a key year for the Puig-owned label in the mainland. That year saw the opening of four doors: Wuhan SKP in July; SLT in Beijing and Plaza 66 in Shanghai—both in August—and Taikoo Hui also in Shanghai in December.
For 2025’s Lunar New Year, the aptly titled fragrance Luna, among the brand’s most popular fragrances in the country, was given a chic, snake-inspired visual rebrand for the festival. Pan, for one, finds these classic collections, especially Sartorial, Blenheim Bouquet (made with King Charles), and Halfeti, more appealing. “These vintage-style scents with old-school elegance and understated, gentle profiles better reflect the British culture I’m more familiar with, say, in period dramas and films,” she explains.
A pre-eminent voices in the sector, Pan complimented the “visual flair” of the display. “I think Chinese fragrance lovers probably showed up here today with love and curiosity: a full-on appreciation of British culture,” she said at the event.
Few have a heritage quite like Penhaligon’s. The exhibition, which has been causing a stir on platforms like Weibo and Red Note, is now moving on to Wuhan followed by stop-offs in London (in May) as well as Dubai and Sydney in Q4.
