In the world of luxury, restraint is often the default. But Bijan, the Beverly Hills house that built its name on unabashed opulence, has never been one for subtlety. To mark its 50th anniversary, the brand is launching its first new fragrances in over a decade - Just Bijan for Men and Just Bijan for Women - priced at $600 each. They are, as CEO Dar Mahboubi describes, "younger, happier, sexier versions" of the original 1980s scents. For a lingerie historian, this is a familiar language. The 1980s were the golden age of power dressing, when lingerie shed its purely functional skin for sculpted, architectural forms - think bustiers worn as outerwear, or the rise of La Perla's corsetry-as-fashion. Bijan's original fragrances arrived in that same era of conspicuous consumption, and this new duo feels like a direct descendant: expensive, unapologetic, and designed for those who treat scent as an extension of their wardrobe's most intimate layer. Developed with Givaudan's Stephen Nilsen, the perfumes anchor themselves in Texas cedarwood, a nod to American roots, while sourcing olibanum from Somalia and patchouli from Indonesia. The men's version weaves papyrus and incense; the women's blends bergamot, jasmine sambac, coconut, and amber. Mahboubi emphasizes "quality over quantity" - a phrase that could equally describe the handmade silk and lace of a bespoke corset. Bijan's trajectory mirrors fashion's broader shift toward exclusivity. Once a department-store powerhouse - where its Classic for Women was Saks Fifth Avenue's top seller, and Michael Jordan collaborated on a 1996 scent - the brand now operates solely through its three West Coast boutiques and direct-to-consumer channels. Annual fragrance sales once exceeded $100 million; today, the core is clothing and accessories, with ties starting at $980 and alligator leather goods commanding a premium. The customer profile has shifted, too: the average age has dropped from 55 to under 40, fueled by what Mahboubi calls "young billionaires" seeking the best of everything. These new fragrances are a calculated seduction - a scent memory for those who remember the 1980s, and a first kiss for a new generation. In the Lingerie Museum's archives, we recognize this dance between memory and desire: it's the same impulse that turns a vintage garter belt into a modern statement. Bijan's "more is more" philosophy, after 50 years, still fits like a glove.
Originally reported by WWD