A perfume, silk scarves and a DeMellier collaboration: Santa Eulalia celebrates its fashion house heritage

Madrid – With over 180 years of history, Barcelona-based Santa Eulalia has a truly unparalleled legacy in the fashion world, both globally and specifically within Spain and Barcelona itself. This week, coinciding with the end-of-summer 'rentrée', the boutique is celebrating this history by commemorating the centenary of its first fashion show.

To set the scene, we must first focus on the year 1843. In Barcelona, on the central, narrow and evocative Carrer de la Boqueria, a small shop specialising in fabrics opened. This was barely six years after Thierry Hermès had opened his first saddlery workshop in Paris, the origin of the house of Hermès. It was also three years before the collective workshop that traces the origins of Loewe began. This is where we find the beginnings of Santa Eulalia. Of the three, it is the only one whose origins are most faithfully linked to the world of fashion. From its earliest days, it ventured into clothing, naturally bespoke — prêt-à-porter would not emerge until the late 1950s — for both men and women.

Building on its identity as a fashion house, Santa Eulalia opened and moved in 1898 to a new modernist building on Pla de la Boqueria square, on La Rambla, built for the shop by the renowned architect of the time, Pere Falqués. The boutique was located on the site of the old Santa Eulalia gate. According to tradition, this was the place of martyrdom of the city's patron saint. The store was decorated with an image of the saint on its façade and was eventually renamed Almacenes Santa Eulalia. The company adopted this name around 1900, and the historic fashion house has been operating under it ever since. With over 180 years of history, one of its greatest milestones was the celebration of its first fashion show in 1926. This was a major event for Barcelona and Spain at the time. Santa Eulalia showcased its own creations on a catwalk, just as the great Parisian fashion houses of the era were doing. The initiative created such a sensation that invitations to subsequent shows became personal. The fashion house decided to highlight the creations of Pere Formosa, first an apprentice and later master of the sewing workshop, who revolutionised the fashion house. He would eventually become part of the Sans family, who have owned Santa Eulalia for four generations.

A perfume with 'heritage'

To celebrate and commemorate this particular milestone in the history of Santa Eulalia, the house has presented 'Heritas' this week. The brand has evolved and adapted to the changing realities of fashion, establishing itself today as one of the most emblematic and recognised multi-brand boutiques in Europe and the world. The name, Latin for 'Heritage', has been given to the new creation in Santa Eulalia's own fragrance family. This is a product category the house first introduced in 1947 with the launch of its first 'eau de cologne', and which it relaunched in 2014 with a renewed and complete collection of its own fragrances.

Generally understood as a line that highlights and reinforces the brand's 'global vocation', it is sold not only in-house but also in a curated selection of perfumeries in Barcelona, Spain, and various European, Middle Eastern and international markets. Santa Eulalia's family of olfactory creations is now complete with this latest addition. It is the first created for the house by Chris Maurice, a third-generation Barcelona perfumer who has designed a fragrance for Santa Eulalia inspired by that first fashion show, drawing on his links with the city and the fashion house itself. He knew the shop as a child through his grandmother, a regular client of the house. He has paid tribute to its heritage and legacy with an olfactory construction 'in three stages'. It has a top note of white flowers and frangipani flower, the star of this fragrance, which also incorporates an element particularly characteristic of Catalan modernist decorative motifs; a heart of vanilla and iris notes; and base notes of sandalwood, benzoin and white musk. The house gave us an exclusive preview of the composition last Wednesday, September 9, during an olfactory workshop held inside its boutique at 93 Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona. It is now on sale in 15 ml (35 euros) and 75 ml (180 euros) sizes.

“Chris has known Santa Eulalia since he was a child,” says Luis Sans, president of Santa Eulalia. “His grandmother was a client of the house and he remembers accompanying her when she came to try on her Haute Couture dresses.” He adds that Maurice “is from Barcelona, belongs to the third generation of a family of perfumers and has experienced this world first-hand.” With all that background, “who better than someone with that bond to create a true olfactory tribute to our one hundred years of Haute Couture,” he notes. His statements also make it clear that, while not a requirement or limitation to be from Barcelona, the essential thing for developing the project was to have someone with the ability and sensitivity to truly convey the history of Santa Eulalia as a fashion house through a scent, as well as its links with the fashion world and, of course, with Barcelona. “We are Barcelona,” stresses the boutique's management.

An immersive presentation

To celebrate this launch and welcome Barcelona's high society back to the city after the usual summer break, Santa Eulalia held a launch party for the new 'Heritas' fragrance on the evening of Wednesday, September 9, with a sensational party at La Paloma. The venue, which opened in 1903, is considered the oldest ballroom in Europe. Inside, the house offered a meticulously crafted immersive experience, which we were also pleased to experience first-hand. It merged the worlds of perfumery, music, gastronomy, lighting and, of course, fashion, all centred around the identity of the 'Heritas' fragrance itself.

Around 500 guests attended, including clients and representatives from the media and Barcelona society with links to Santa Eulalia, as well as the worlds of fashion and culture. Notable attendees at La Paloma included interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán; actress and presenter Marta Torné; actor Daniel Horwath; models Lucas Prada, Pau Ramis, and Jorge and Edu Román; photographer Martín Gatti; and DJ and influencer Gerard Estadella. The party began with three 'olfactory capsules' inside the space, offering the chance to smell the three dominant notes of the fragrance in all their intensity: frangipani flower, sandalwood and vanilla. The sensory experience was completed with the gift of scarves scented with the new 'Heritas' fragrance, a gesture that filled the entire room with the delicate aroma of the new Santa Eulalia perfume. The drinks menu also featured four cocktails created by Javier de las Muelas, inspired by and scented with notes linked to the fragrance. This succession of sensory impressions was topped off by a live performance from the American group Brothers of Soul. This was accompanied by an ambient light show that also sought to generate the sensations conveyed by the olfactory construction of the 'Heritas' fragrance, and chocolates by Christian Escribà. These small white and dark chocolate delights played on the black and white combination that was set as the event's 'dress code', in turn referencing Santa Eulalia's corporate visual code.

Just as with the creation of the perfume itself, “we wanted to surround ourselves with talent,” praises Luis Sans. “They are all internationally recognised professionals in their respective fields, but at the same time deeply linked to Barcelona.” He continues: “That local component was very important to us because ‘Heritas’ is born from our history, but also from our city.” This is why it was important that “this celebration had deeply Barcelonian roots.” Based on this commitment, “Santa Eulalia and La Paloma are two historic, family-run companies closely linked to Barcelona.” “We felt there were many similarities between the two,” and therefore “it was the perfect place to celebrate these one hundred years of Haute Couture.”

With silk scarves and a DeMellier collaboration

The fragrance launch and the series of immersive activations are just part of a series of initiatives that Santa Eulalia has decided to launch to commemorate the centenary of its first fashion show. The historic boutique will celebrate the event with the launch of a limited edition of three natural silk scarves, printed with original illustrations from the house's historic posters of the 1930s, created for Santa Eulalia by J. Perajordi, Porta and José Luis Rey Vila.

Three designs, conceived as collector's items, will be sold throughout this commemorative year. They will be joined by an exclusive handbag model created for Santa Eulalia by the London-based brand DeMellier, inspired by the same 1926 fashion show. The brand stands out in Santa Eulalia's current offering as one of the new accessories brands to be included in its curated product selection. Despite its British nature, it is worth noting that it was founded by the Spanish, and specifically Barcelona-born, Mireia Llusia-Lindh. In the creative and entrepreneur, Santa Eulalia has found the perfect partner to celebrate its legacy as a fashion house, alongside this fragrance and the collection of scarves.