A VIP client evening in Dubai

The brief

A global luxury maison’s regional clienteling team wants its best clients in Dubai to spend an evening with the house that feels like nothing else on their calendar: intimate, sensory and made for them. The regional managing director wants an evening clients talk about for the rest of the season, and a reason for each guest to remember the maison every time they wear it.

The format and the experts

The evening is built around a bespoke perfume atelier led by a royal family perfumer. Guests are guided through notes of oud, rose, amber and citrus, then each composes a signature scent, with a perfumer at every table and the royal family perfumer leading the room.

• Arrival: live oud in the courtyard and a welcome pairing from the chef.
• The atelier: eight tables of ten, a perfumer at every table and the royal family perfumer moving between them.
• Calligraphy: a calligrapher writes each guest’s name in Arabic script for the bottle and its card.
• The tasting: a chef’s menu in several courses, each paired with a note from the perfume organ.

The setting

A private heritage house or a hotel salon in Dubai, lit low and dressed in brass, wood and glass, with a courtyard for the arrival. From October to April the arrival opens in the courtyard; in the summer months the whole evening moves into the salon.

The outcome

Every guest leaves with a signature scent composed for them, in a bottle engraved with their name in Arabic calligraphy. The maison’s team spends the evening beside its clients, and every bottle becomes a reminder of the house.

Questions buyers ask