Yves Coueslant

Yves Coueslant, a French stage designer, co-founded the house of Diptyque in 1961 with interior designer Christiane Gautrot and painter Desmond Knox-Leet, opening a shop at 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris that sold fabric and decorative designs before introducing scented candles in 1963 and the eau de toilette L'Eau in 1968. Memories of childhood summers in Do Son, Vietnam, where the sea breeze carried the scent of tuberose and elephants bore sandalwood to temple fires, inspired Diptyque fragrances including the Do Son and Tam Dao collections.