In 1961, the avant-garde collided with the baroque when Salvador Dalí and Maurice Béjart collaborated on Gala, a ballet staged at La Fenice in Venice, later moving to Brussels’ Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and Paris in 1962. Dalí envisioned it as a “théâtre total”—a work of art engaging every sense, from sight and sound to touch and smell. At the heart of this audacious experiment was perfume, employed not as a background flourish but as a central scenographic element. For this, Dalí turned to Maison Guerlain, who designed a bespoke perfume named Nébuleuse, its title alluding to Gala, Dalí’s wife and muse.
The staging itself was surreal. Gigantic barrels filled with Guerlain’s specially prepared liquid occupied the stage, releasing strange geometric soap bubbles infused with scent. These bubbles became a visible manifestation of the intangible—perfume made material, floating and dissolving into the audience’s space. Men in wheelchairs pulled the perfume through tall, crutch-like pulleys, blending theatrical absurdity with a sense of ritualistic ceremony. Guerlain’s fragrance was used not only for beauty but also for practical effect, masking the odor of a deliberately placed rotting carcass, one of Dalí’s provocative stage elements meant to jolt the senses into discomfort and contemplation.
This blending of olfaction with performance was unprecedented. It elevated perfume from mere adornment to an active participant in the narrative, embodying femininity and ephemerality as part of the ballet’s surrealist vocabulary. Guerlain, recognizing the publicity potential, embraced this unusual collaboration. Their luxurious product—ordinarily associated with refinement and intimacy—was transformed into an atmospheric device filling an entire theatre.
The experiment did not stop at the stage. Decca Records, which produced the recording of the performance, sought to extend the multisensory experience into the home. Though initially considering an olfactory tie-in that echoed the theatrical carcass, they wisely chose Guerlain’s more sophisticated contribution. With Guerlain’s cooperation, Decca included a scented flannel sachet infused with Vol de Nuit in the album packaging. The accompanying instructions—“In this envelope you will find a flannel to scent your lingerie”—linked the theatrical spectacle to private, intimate ritual. It was at once marketing, art, and sensorial immersion, reinforcing Guerlain’s identity as both innovator and guardian of luxury.
