Le Labo Fragrances takes us on an intimate journey to the Australian bush to visit the source of its soulful Sandalwood scents in Western Australia, a region renowned for its rugged landscapes, tidal flats and staggering coastlines. 

The Language of the Trees, directed by Bradley Tangonan, started life as an elevated documentary on the rhythm and processes of a sustainable sandalwood plantation in Australia, where one can find the source of the sandalwood oil that creates the heady fragrance combinations in Le Labo’s iconic collection of 18 eau de parfums.

“A unique outlook and wisdom changed the crew’s relationship with the natural world forever”

However, an alchemical transformation of intention occurred once the film crew met Edward Miller—a dedicated sandalwood farmer raised in the wild expanse of Western Australia—whose unique outlook and wisdom changed the crew’s relationship with the natural world forever. 

As Miller guides us through the farm’s operations from seed to harvest, he explains that there are no boundaries between the plantation and the surrounding wilderness. The conscientious farmer also includes people in his idea of interconnectedness as he asserts we can commune with nature once we see ourselves as part of it. 

“Our once universal but now forgotten mother tongue—the language of nature—is what empowers him with empathy”

His deep and measured silences, accentuated by the film’s honeyed sunsets, characterize Miller’s intuitive affinity for trees. Our once universal but now forgotten mother tongue—the language of nature—is what empowers him with empathy and respect for all living things. 

The Language of the Trees is a moving portrait of just one of the many treasured craftspeople who bring Le Labo’s vision of a hand-picked and handmade world to life. The sandalwood plantation has the same philosophy to nature as Le Labo has to slow perfumery—when working with integrity and in balance with the world, patience yields the greatest rewards.