The return of Jean Patou?

Here's a little oddity for you: Fashion Network has reported that luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH is acquiring the rights to Jean Patou fragrances, and suggesting that the fashion house could be restarted.

I have three 80s-vintage Patous in my collection and they're stunning. In recent years revamped versions of some of the classic Patous have been rereleased as the 'Collection Heritage', though by all accounts they're different from the originals, modern ingredient restrictions and a certain amount of modernising having taken place - and, of course, they don't have the beautiful deco-style bottles and boxes. Still, they're supposed to be still rather lovely, and if I run out of these I will cry the revamps will have to do. It'll be interesting to see if the Collection Heritage reaches a wider market once LVMH takes control of the house. Currently the only ones that seem widely available are the non-Collection Heritage Joy, Joy Forever, 1000 and Sublime.

As for the fashion side of things... While I tend to associate sportswear with American designers, Patou was a great sportswear designer. As much as I'd love to picture the house exploring its Jazz Age heyday, I can imagine the 'sports and sunshine' aspect is what will appeal more to modern buyers. Still, here's to the return of a great and underrated house.

On a side note, it's been reported that the house of Caron is up for sale. While I have enough Caron fragrances stashed to last me another decade (alongside the rest of my collection), I hope the once-great house is returned to the prominence it deserves, as its catalogue includes some lovely and legendary names.