France – something like the secret birthplace of perfume. During the reign of the Louis kings at the French court, beginning with the legendary Sun King Louis XIV and continuing through to Louis XVI, the court was also known as the ‘perfumed court’ due to the kings' passion for perfume: Not only did people perfume themselves extensively, but the chambers were also scented, even the fountains. Perfumes were considered status symbols – just like horses, which were kept and bred there with the same passion.

In 1743, the reigning king, Louis XV, commissioned the sculptor Guillaume Coustou to create horse statues in memory of his great-grandfather Louis XIV. These were erected in the parks of the kings' summer residence in Marly-le-Roi. These horse statues are now known as Les Chevaux de Marly and have achieved world fame as masterpieces of Baroque art. Replicas of the statues line the Champs-Élysées in Paris at its junction with the Place de la Concorde, while the originals have now found a home in the Louvre.

Parfums de Marly combines the passions of Louis XV – perfumes and horses – in its fragrance line. Designed as an olfactory homage to the magnificent perfume creations of that era, the fragrances are named after noble horse breeds and presented in flacons elaborately decorated with racy horses.