Milan's 10 Corso Como, Joyce in Hong Kong, Quartier 206 in Berlin, Wish in Manila, and Barneys and Jeffrey in New York all have the distinction of being part of an exclusive and well-edited list of retailers that will carry the scent.

Putman tell us the fragrance is inspired by the vertical garden she created at Pershing Hall in Paris as well as "the tactile sensuality of driftwood on a beach."

Préparation Parfumée, the result of a collaboration with independent perfumer Olivia Giacobetti, is currently available only in a laboratory-style, 250ml bottle. A more portable 30ml version will be released in June.

Fragrance is definitely a departure for this pioneer of minimalism and champion of near-forgotten Modernists. But Putnam, now in her 70s, just can't seem to stop working. She is currently bringing her brand of modern cool to LA, slaving away on Alain Giraud's soon-to-open Melrose Place restaurant, Bastide, which she likens to "an odd little place from the south of France," awash in pastels that are "sophisticated, but soft." It is tentatively scheduled to open in early June.

The makeover maestro of the Concorde and creator of such iconic establishments as Ian Schrager's Morgans Hotel, Putman may be new to fragrance, but she certainly knows fashion. She designed the Lagerfeld Gallery in 1998, and has done boutiques for Balenciaga and Azzedine Alaia.

Putman herself is scheduled to appear at Préparation Parfumée's launches at Harvey Nichols in London and at LA's Fred Segal and K-Bond.