Penhaligon’s marks ten years of Portraits collection with Royal Academy exhibition and global growth push

Penhaligon’s is bringing its fictional Portraits family to the Royal Academy of Arts, marking the collection’s tenth anniversary by supporting its latest launch and deepening its connection with consumers. Thomas James, President of Niche, Wellness & Skincare at owner Puig, tells us all about it...

The Who’s Who of London opens at Burlington House on Piccadilly today, 18 September, transforming the characters, relationships and fragrances behind Portraits into a three-day immersive exhibition.

The event also presents the latest Portraits fragrance, The Manoeuvres of the Baroness, alongside an advance look at Portraits Intense. The new range reworks four established scents through darker compositions.

For Penhaligon’s, which was founded by William Penhaligon in London in 1870, the exhibition marks both a creative anniversary and a commercial milestone. Portraits has helped the Puig-owned fragrance house reach new consumers and build its presence across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

“Portraits has been an incredible adventure for the brand,” James told TheIndustry.beauty. “It has opened the door to so many markets and, most importantly, connected with so many people.”

Launched in 2016, Portraits departed from the ingredient-led presentation common in niche fragrance at the time. Instead, Penhaligon’s created a fictional aristocratic family shaped by affairs, marriages, divorces and competing ambitions, with each personality represented by a fragrance and an animal-head bottle cap.

The Who’s Who of London extends that narrative by linking its characters with areas of the capital. Visitors can explore a Portraits Gallery detailing their identities and scents, while a decadent Dining Room depicts the aftermath of a family gathering filled with scandal.

A dedicated installation introduces the Baroness, while a gift shop carries the collection, limited-edition pieces and a new coffee-table book. The Royal Academy setting also connects the activation to Penhaligon’s British heritage and longstanding relationship with the Royal Family. The fragrance house currently holds a Royal Warrant from King Charles III.

James said the physical experience reflects a wider change in how luxury businesses build consumer relationships.

“I think the next step, given all the shifts that the luxury market is going through, will be resonance,” he said. “Of course, you can do it online, but we felt that, being in London, we needed to be physically present, especially in such an iconic space.”

Introducing the latest launch

During the exhibition, visitors can discover the new scent, The Manoeuvres of the Baroness, which was created by perfumer Daphné Bugey, who developed the early Portraits characters Lady Blanche and the Duke. The new character is positioned as the family’s behind-the-scenes strategist, controlling its narrative while remaining largely out of view.

Penhaligon’s briefed Bugey on the Baroness’s personality and surroundings without specifying an ingredient or fragrance family. Her interpretation drew on the Château de Chantilly in France, referencing both Chantilly lace and cream.

The resulting fragrance combines orange blossom, Chantilly, mandarin, incense and sandalwood, with peppery and woody facets intended to reflect the character’s authority. It is priced at £245 for 75ml and finished with a golden gazelle-head cap.

“It’s not your typical boring floral gourmand,” James said. “It’s a floral with a lot of character.” He said the sandalwood and pepper notes have also attracted male customers to the fragrance.

Balancing modernity and heritage in the UK

The exhibition comes as the UK, its home market, remains a central focus, with most domestic sales generated through its own boutiques rather than department stores, James said. That direct-to-consumer structure gives the company greater control over service, storytelling and the physical presentation of its fragrances.

The strategy was also evident in the refurbishment of its Regent Street flagship in December 2025. The redesigned boutique combines reclaimed materials and commissioned artworks with fragrance profiling, including a bronze lion table and a Portraits-inspired chess set.

Penhaligon’s is using Portraits and experience-led events to recruit younger shoppers while continuing to serve customers attached to longstanding fragrances including Blenheim Bouquet and Sartorial.

“We need to push the boundaries of modernity, attract younger customers, but we also need to celebrate our heritage,” James said. “We project into modernity with this kind of initiative, but we also always look at our past.”

British heritage supports international growth

Portraits has gained traction in China and the Middle East, where James said consumers engage closely with its character-led narratives. Penhaligon’s is supporting that demand through owned retail, flagship stores and travel-retail distribution.

In China, Luna and The Coveted Duchess Rose are among the brand’s strongest products. James said consumers in the market expect detailed evidence behind claims concerning provenance and craftsmanship, making Penhaligon’s archive and 155-year history central to its positioning.

“If you pretend, you fail. It needs to be true,” he said. “When we say we are a British brand, we don’t just say it. We prove it with the history, with all the heritage and the archives.”

The Portraits narrative will continue beyond its first decade, with James arguing that the fictional family provides enough characters, conflicts and relationships to support future fragrances for years to come.

The Who’s Who of London runs at the Royal Academy of Arts from 18–20 September 2026.