Probably the most awaited fragrance launch has finally arrived. Louis Vuitton revealed their new fragrance collection, carefully crafted by Jacques Cavallier Belletrud the in-house Master Perfumer. A contemporary collection of seven fragrances that completely translate the spirit and the philosophy of Louis Vuitton’s creative universe. From the airiness of Rose des Vents to the intoxicating Turbulences, the ecstasy of a first night with Dans la Peau to the mindful immersion in nature with Apogée; from the self-revealing Contre Moi to an exploration of a darker side with Matière Noire and the explosion of the senses with Mille Feux… Les parfums Louis Vuitton describe a journey of emotions. It is definitely the luxury news of the month!
Named Maître Parfumeur of Louis Vuitton in 2012, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud traveled the world for four years to perfect the first collection of Louis Vuitton perfumes. Each fragrance he created starts with an emotion, an idea or simply a feeling of something that would talk to his heart and his mind. To take the challenge to rewrite Louis Vuitton’s olfactory universe, he needed to source all the brand roots and legacy in order to give a future to this amazing heritage. A fragrance is a memory, an impression, an invitation and an invisible signature. Louis Vuitton’s fragrances should offer an unique experience inspired from travels and from a best-in-class quality.
Louis Vuitton, a luxury house that had already a fragrance heritage and background
Despite of the extraordinary legacy as leather accessories, travel luggage and fashion, Louis Vuitton has a historical heritage in fragrances. In 1927, the french luxury malletier launched its debut fragrance called Heures d’Absence. In 1928 Louis Vuitton launched as well a trio fragrance called Je, Tu and Il .
We can see that Louis Vuitton was inspired from its first fragrance steps by the world of travel and by innovation. 18 years later, we are in 1946 just after Second World War, Louis Vuitton launched two new fragrances called Reminiscence and Eau de Voyage.
This heritage represented times in which traveling was a stylish experience to live. Sometimes it was probably the experience of a lifetime. In this after war period, the travel flask was a contemporary way to craft fragrances. Its simplicity and practical approach has already placed Louis Vuitton in a modern approach of the fragrance world… 70 years ago.
At that time Louis Vuitton was inspired by nature. Flowers, woods and exoticism was part of the olfactory adventure and each fragrance was created as a travel invitation to somewhere else. Travel was a luxury experience and food for the soul. 70 years after the last launch, Louis Vuitton decided to bring back this heritage. In a fragrance industry where things were overtaken by mass-consumption and marketing techniques, there was room for a luxury brand to out-stand. Louis Vuitton needed to do things in the right way. First things first: who should create the fragrances and where?
Parfums Louis Vuitton today, the journey continues
So in 2012, the French Luxury house announced the arrival of Jacques Cavallier Belletrud as the new in-house Perfumer. His task was to leverage the brand olfactory legacy and build the most beautiful fragrance collection of all. In order to establish the fragrance activity, they acquired a house in Grasse, the French city of perfumery where everything was born. In this preserved space, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud could design, imagine, craft the new olfactory universe for Louis Vuitton.
4 years later, mission is accomplished. The Master Perfumer traveled around the world, resourced himself in Grasse and aligned his creative power with the best from history and modernity. Truthful to the contemporary spirit of the house, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud offers a collection of 7 fragrances presented in a very elegant and modern flacon. It reminds the travel flacons you could find in all elegant travel cases, once again Louis Vuitton delivers a true invitation to a sensorial journey. Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, the brand’s first in-house perfumer, spent months travelling the world in search of inspiration. Leather, the brand’s signature material, will obviously be part of the collection olfactory palette, besides fine perfumery materials such as Osmanthus, Magnolia or Jasminum sambac.
Jacques Cavallier Belletrud idea was to redefine perfumery in a contemporary context. Aligning heritage and modernity, nature and technology at its best. Using Roses seem coherent based on the perfumery heritage but rather than using traditional extractions, Louis Vuitton’s in-house Perfumer used CO2 extractions, that allowed to get the freshness of the flower in a cold extraction process. This approach renews this idea of signature fragrances and provides the brand with a new purpose, relevant for the current Louis Vuitton fans as well as the future ones. Based on today’s society we can say it is very relevant and timeless.
Louis Vuitton decided to add a face to the fragrance line. Only one person, the brand muse could be the ideal candidate: Lea Seydoux. At the beginning of 2016, Louis Vuitton released the first ad campaign with Lea Seydoux for the Spring collection. She represents a free spirit, a true modern and young femininity, completely aligned with the brand values. Nothing more natural than using Lea Seydoux as the face of the fragrance range. The new campaign will roll-out from September 2016 onwards.
As we can see in the first visuals, Louis Vuitton features a young, modern, elegant determined woman. She has a strong self-confident look and know what she wants. She is surrounded with an interesting environment that would invite you to an extraordinary journey. Her dress is opened, so she is unexpected and has a strong personality. It is sexy but not vulgar, feminine but not cheesy, modern and yet timeless.
Being the most expected fragrance launch this year, Louis Vuitton is writing a piece of history as they take a strong statement as a beautiful fragrance brand. Away from the marketing world, they put in place all the means of their ambition. The result is fantastic and more developments should be revealed soon. Please visit the brand official website for more information: http://www.louisvuitton.com
José Amorim
Info sourced at Louis Vuitton official communication, website and social networks, JSBG, Fragrantica and fashionista. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.