Creative Mind: Delphine Jelk

Swiss-born talent Delphine Jelk is on a mission to preserve Guerlain’s storied 200-year heritage while simultaneously breaking boundaries with her radical innovation. “My goal is reinterpreting the style of the house, but it has become my style too because it’s everything I love,” says Jelk, the brand’s master perfumer since 2014 and the nose behind haute perfume collection L’Art & La Matière, audience favorites such as Mon Guerlain, and the recent rebrand of the iconic 100-year-old Shalimar.

Esteemed for her round, warm, and polished compositions that utilize iris, musk, and powdery notes of vanilla and almond, Jelk also realizes ultraexclusive custom scents for top clients. Acknowledging her savoir faire, France named her a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2021.

Breakout moment: After training at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, Jelk presented Guerlain in 2008 with a novel idea for a scent inspired by the rock and roll energy of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. “I wanted to create something
for the new era because I felt a generation was missing,” she says of her now legendary La Petite Robe Noire.

Unique process: “When building a fragrance, emotion comes before inspiration. It can come from a movie or from smelling a new ingredient,” says Jelk. “I also use a lot of mood boards. I put words, textures, and visuals together to communicate my creative intention.”

Design ethos: “Perfume isn’t just about seduction; it’s about feeling good—it’s a healing therapy,” she says. “I think we will see much more of this healing side of perfumery in the coming years.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue in the section “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.