FOLIE installation by Lucas Huillet and Alexandre Helwani at Hôtel de Sully, PDW 2025 – Courtesy of Paris Design Week.
Design. On the terrace of the Hôtel de Sully—a 17th-century gem and home to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux—designer Lucas Huillet and perfumer Alexandre Helwani teamed up with Amandine Clerc-Marie, lead parfumeur at DSM-Firmenich, to present Folie, an olfactive installation where visitors can find an oasis of serenity way from the Parisian bustle.
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Courtesy of Paris Design Week.
“We wanted to address a theme that has been in our minds for a long time: mental health.” Lucas Huillet told Archipanic. “We imagined an installation as a dialogue between imagination and research, where design is not only about aesthetics but also about the way spaces and objects can influence our emotions and wellbeing.”
Courtesy of Paris Design Week.
At the heart of the installation lies a monumental chaise longue, inviting visitors to lie down and unburden their minds. The seat’s shape, texture, and curves were designed in dialogue with research on the impact of materials and colours on mental well-being, to offer an immediate sense of calm.
Courtesy of Paris Design Week.
Above, soft fabric chimaeras float like kites, encouraging release and letting go. Infused into the fabric are custom-designed fragrances, crafted to soothe and inspire reverie—gently perfuming the air around. “We designed four fragrances as a kind of initiatory path, guiding the visitor step by step: from introspection to elevation, from solitude to reconnection, until reaching a state of both physical and mental well-being.”
Photo by Lucas Huillet.
The olfactory experience was imagined in collaboration with Amandine Clerc-Marie, principal perfumer at DSM-Firmenich. Amandine draws on the emotiOn program, grounded in years of neuroscience expertise, to create a perfume that enhances social confidence while fostering a sense of well-being and serenity. Her fragrances are developed through a scientifically validated creative process, offering visitors a truly sensory and soothing interlude.
An immersive soundscape—stretching between tensions and resolutions—completes this multisensory haven. This is a space to pause, breathe, and simply be.
Photo by Lucas Huillet.
“The idea grew stronger during the pandemic, when we all realised how much our environments are not neutral — they shape our moods, affect our balance, and, if designed carefully, can become real allies for our mental health. Creating Folie was for us a way to explore how simple elements — the softness of a seat, the calm of a blue shade, the play of light and air — can trigger positive feelings and help people reconnect with a sense of serenity.”
Folie will be on display during Paris Design Week and will remain on display until September 21.
Photo by Lucas Huillet.
Photos are courtesy of Paris Design Week and Lucas Huillet.
Courtesy of Paris Design Week.
