Long before “collab” became a marketing buzzword, François Coty was already doing it — commissioning the great glass artist René Lalique to lend his hand to packaging design. This compact carries that legacy on its lid: a scattering of stylized powder puffs rendered in olive and bronze tones against a cream and burnt-orange ground, designed by Lalique and instantly recognizable to collectors of vintage vanity pieces.
Coty’s “Air-Spun” powder was the innovation that made this compact necessary in the first place — in 1934, Coty secured exclusive rights to a new manufacturing process using air-powered micronisers. The underside of the case shows the engine-turned sunburst pattern typical of the line, stamped for “Loosprest” Powder, Air-Spun, Coty New York, L’Origan Naturelle — L’Origan being Coty’s own celebrated 1905 fragrance, one of the house’s signature scents of the era.
Inside, the compact retains its original mirror and velvet-lined powder well, the gilt metal case showing the soft patina and light tarnish you’d expect from nearly a century of ‘beautiful living’.
A lovely, wearable piece of Art Deco cosmetic history, equally at home displayed open on a dresser as tucked into an evening bag.
2 3/4” dia