When Geranium Leaf Meets Design: Inside Aesop’s Singapore Collaboration
Aesop’s cult-favourite Geranium Leaf collection steps off the bathroom shelf and into the world of design. In three Singapore stores, the brand has teamed up with Melbourne’s OTHER MATTER – a material innovation studio founded by artist and designer Jessie French – to reimagine its signature range in unexpected, sensorial ways.
Some scents fade, others stick
Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser has been a staple since 1998, still as fresh today as when it debuted as a radical alternative to the era’s synthetically fragranced, high-foaming soaps. A blend of geranium leaf, bergamot rind and mandarin rind, its citrusy-green fragrance is both invigorating and grounding – the perfect morning pick-me-up or evening reset.
Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Collection Takes Center Stage in Singapore
This month, the Aesop Geranium Leaf collection (including the Body Cleanser, Body Balm, Body Scrub, and Hydrating Body Treatment) steps into the spotlight. From Aug 20 to Sept 21, 2025, three Aesop Singapore stores – ION Orchard, Ngee Ann City and Raffles City – will host design-led installations inspired by the collection. Think of it as Aesop’s way of transforming a cult body care range into a full-bodied sensory moment.
The Creative Vision of OTHER MATTER and Jessie French
To bring the idea to life, Aesop has tapped OTHER MATTER, a Melbourne-based studio founded by artist and designer Jessie French. Her thing? Material research and experimentation which has produced an innovative algae-based bioplastic, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional PVC which can be used in diverse contexts with global potential to transform the industry for the better.
Jessie French of Melbourne’s OTHER MATTER creating algae-based bioplastics, which will help offer a new way of experiencing Aesop’s Geranium Leaf collection in Singapore
In this collaboration titled ‘A Material Endeavour’ – a first for Singapore – her work takes its design inspiration from Geranium Leaf. The result? Installations that transform each of the three stores into curiously, experimental art spaces that offer a new perspective on Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Care.
Where to See A Material Endeavour – the Aesop & OTHER MATTER Collaboration inspired by Geranium Leaf in Singapore
Every location exhibits OTHER MATTER’s material in different forms and applications:
Ngee Ann City (#B1-54/55): French’s algae-based bioplastics are rendered into a stunning 3D tapestry resembling a shower curtain.
ION Orchard (#B1-22): The texture of French’s signature material is the focus, skinning the store windows in Geranium-inspired hues without the need for adhesives, alongside the makeover of the store’s Fragrance Armoire room into a greenhouse guaranteed to be Insta-gold.
Raffles City (#01-44A): Get interactive as visitors are encouraged to peel decals in the shape of Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Balm tubes off the windows and take them home as keepsakes.
A limited run of maps will guide visitors across the three locations. Those who collect stamps at each stop will receive a small token at their journey’s end while supplies last – a playful nod to exploration and discovery.
Aesop’s Longstanding Relationship with Design
Aesop’s Scents of Being at the Singapore Night Festival 2024 transformed the National Design Centre into a fragrant, illuminated forest, showcasing the brand’s ongoing commitment to design and cultural experiences.
And when it comes to culture, Aesop doesn’t just watch from the sidelines. In 2024, for example, it staged Scents of Being at the Singapore Night Festival, turning the National Design Centre into a glowing forest of fragrance highlighting its Eaux de Parfum range. At Melbourne Design Week this year, it partnered with OTHER MATTER to create installations in four of its stores with the material studio’s proprietary algae-based bioplastic decals without any use of PVC, exploring a more sustainable future for retail spaces and design.
This new collaboration in Singapore inspired by Aesop’s Geranium Leaf collection continues that design dialogue: At Aesop, culture and self-care are inseparable.
Experiencing Geranium Leaf: Design, Scent, and Surprise
The Evergreen Exhilaration set pairs the Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub and Body Balm, available for a limited time at all stores.
Try the low-foaming and refreshing Body Cleanser daily, then follow up once or twice a week by using the Body Scrub instead of the cleanser – its blend of bamboo stem and pumice promising to thoroughly slough away dead cells to reveal ultra-smooth, polished skin. Complete with the Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Balm, which is packed with shea butter and sweet almond to instantly alleviate dryness, and a few drops of the Geranium Leaf Body Hydrating Treatment that’s like the massage oil we all dream about with its heavenly scent and skin-softening benefits.
For those looking to take the ritual home, the limited-edition Evergreen Exhilaration set ($97) pairs the Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub and Body Balm in one neat, gift-worthy package. Now who said you’ve to step into a museum or art gallery to experience design, rejuvenation and some me-time?
This story was written in partnership with Aesop.