DANNER & FLEMMING
Iris Altesse
2025
PERFUMER
Antoine Lie
bergamot
Pink pepper
orris
blackcurrant
jasmine sambac
orange blossom
Tuberose
‘Effervescently sparkling, fresh, and powdery—this is a timelessly elegant and cosmopolitan fragrance. At the heart of this millésime perfume our highest-dosed, rare, and limited Bavarian Iris pallida unfolds its captivating powdery scent. A vivid symphony of floral and green notes radiates—sparkling and vibrant like a gentle May rain. The charm of jasmine, paired with the opulence of orange blossom and tuberose absolutes, lends this sophisticated creation a sense of timeless elegance. Iris Altesse is pure savoir vivre, enveloping you in an atmosphere of luxury.’ – Danner & Flemming
As soon as I saw the announcement for this brand, it jumped up towards the top of my to-try list for 2025. Danner & Flemming teamed up with one of the best working perfumers in my opinion, Antoine Lie, for a trio of iris fragrances. These are limited editions, using between 2.5 & 4.1% of iris (for comparison, usually it would be 0.1% and Antoine Lie’s high-quality Iris Perle for Les Indemodables uses 0.3%); so with iris being my favorite note, I had to get my nose on these. In genreal, I can say that I was surprised by the styling. They are distinct, ‘complete fragrances’; despite the high iris concentrations, none of them feel like straight-up iris fragrances with a twist; they all utilize iris as part of complex and totally different compositions. They feel like they could belong in (different) popular fragrance houses, more so than the sometimes more crude, ingredients-focused artisinal or indie brands do. There is 1 love, 1 like and 1 that’s not for me on first impression and I do wish that there was a 4th release to just showcase raw iris material in all its glory.
Iris Altesse is the biggest surprise and simultaneously my favorite of the Danner Flemming 2025 trio. And I can totally see reactions to this one being all over the place. To me, Iris Altesse feels like a Chanel Les Exclusifs. Iris being the heart of the Chanel line, but often in support of flowers and more in a role of texture, which is how I feel its used here as well.
Iris Altesse is delicate, soft, at times watery, with a lot of flowers and fruitiness. However, you do get the wonderful feeling of iris, which takes this to a vastly elevated level over a lot of the similar scent profiles that are out there. I’m thinking of fragrances such as a Chanel Chance or even a Gris Dior. This is clearly the brightest, most traditionally feminine leaning scent in the range.
I get a soft fruitiness, like raspberry or watery pear. It’s quite acidic and it has a non-descript floral blend that I would usually describe as a fruity-floral hairspray, except that it doesn’t feel like a sharp hairspray here. It wears very elegantly. Perhaps more buttery and pasty, than powdery, but I would have to look for a carrot-iris tinge. Let me put it like this: I would never describe it as an iris fragrance without knowing the context; it’s a sophisticated fruity floral.
Iris Altesse is a joy to wear. To people who are looking for more unconventional scent profiles from a brand like this, I can see it being a turn off. For me, it’s rare to see a brand like this, to feel like it could’ve been a top-notch Chanel Les Exclusifs. It appeals to the traditionalist, less so to the edgy artisinal. I personally like the scent profile a lot, but even if I didn’t, the ‘connoisseur’/snob in me would appreciate this for the way it wears and throughout the years I’ve gravitated less and less towards the rougher, heavier scents, in favor of wearability and versatility; it’s just rare to find that at such a high quality and Iris Altesse delivers. This one is wishlist worthy for me.