Louis Vuitton has unveiled a new fragrance collection. The Les Extraits collection features five unique fragrances that reinvent perfume in a modern way.
Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, Louis Vuitton master perfumer explains his vision behind the creations: “I wanted to venture where no one goes anymore. To reinvent the notion of an Extrait in a contemporary way. To bring in light, expand matter, and lighten things up. I wanted to deconstruct the very architecture of perfume. That’s how Les Extraits Collection was born: five perfumes with no top, heart or base notes, in order to reveal the quintessence of each olfactory family.”
The collection magnifies the spirit of a vocation, it is a hymn to freedom, to absolute movement, the breath of life, and the perpetual metamorphosis of nature. The five scents were created with the vision of getting to the heart of materiality, touching emotions and embracing life. Liberating a scent by condensing it into an Extrait and letting it blossom completely free of constraint. “To reinvent the notion of an Extrait, it’s important to draw out the ingredient and reveal the expression of its essential truth. To reconnect, casting aside any frou-frou, with the rendezvous of seduction; that precious drop placed behind the ear. The Extrait is the silhouette of a perfume. A shared quintessence.” Said Jacques Cavallier Belletrud.
Symphony
The Master Perfumer imagined the scents before smelling them, as he brought to life in these five expressions a very personal story of his journey to becoming a perfumer. “It’s an intensification of emotions. Of character. The kind inherent in perfumes that linger on the skin without disturbing. That are recognizable without being heady. In raw materials, I always find a reason to surprise. In an accord, I like to reveal what is eternally beautiful. I have the good fortune of being able to create molecules using contemporary tools that allow me to embody the wind and bring light to anything that seems too obscure.” He said.
For the Les Extraits collection, he revisited the perfume’s major families and gave them a contemporary twist. In a unique composition, each of the scents is created without top, heart, or base notes, structured like olfactory columns to produce highly concentrated powerful fragrances.
Dancing Blossom
Dancing Blossom is a cascade of flowers including Jasmine Sambac, May rose, osmanthus and Indian tuberose all of which intermingle to create a bouquet of emotions and subtlety. “The rose is the most multi-faceted flower, it has a lemony freshness, tea notes, spices. Jasmine is more animal, more masculine.” observes Jacques Cavallier Belletrud.
Cosmic Cloud represents a journey to the unexplored, featuring ingredients such as Venezuelan Tonka bean fruity musks, and Ambrette absolute from the pistil of a poppy grown in Peru. It is a sensual scent that is enhanced by the power of hypre and an oak moss with chords of cistus and bergamot, of underbrush and light.
Cosmic Cloud
Rhapsody represents that moment when the light touches the horizon “It’s the heart of chypre, the first sophisticated olfactive form in modern perfumery. I tried to bring it modernity while exalting its DNA,” explains Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. “Then, flowers bring a sensation of light, from jasmine Grandiflorum to patchouli and May rose… not forgetting yerba maté to lend that fresh, transparent tonality of green lily-of-the-valley.” A woody framework is given a deep underbrush thanks to vanilla notes, vetiver and ylang ylang.
Symphony combines the sweet scent of fresh ginger zest with bergamot and grapefruit for a radiant yet sensual fragrance that for Jacques Cavallier Belletrud represents “the mingling of Earth and sky, the sublime harmony of the elements.”
Stellar Times
Stella Times is a subliminal journey through time, to rediscover the splendour of fairy tale temples, of gardens embroidered with mosaics and marvellous fountains. “With the ambergris that floats in the oceans, and classic amber that is very vanilla and resinous, I decided to make a soft, white, woody, deep amber,” says Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. A golden palace in the sky, swirling notes, and orange blossom combine with plant amber and the leathery notes of Peru balsam.
Rhapsody
The bottles for the fragrances were designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry who decided to play with curves inspired by 19th-century buildings. Marking the first time he has ever designed a perfume bottle he took inspiration from some of the world’s iconic buildings to create a design that seemed freely arranged as if shaped by air. “I wanted to approach the project from a sculptural point of view. To bring something different to perfume. It’s not a finished geometric form, it’s just movement. Visual movement with the added interest of ephemerality.” Said Frank Gehry. The curvaceous design also represents the architect’s passion for sailing; “when you sail, on the ocean or elsewhere, there is a very intimate relationship between the skipper at the helm and the wind, and the visual impression it creates. The sail moves gently, the air moves and you just try to keep steady. There’s an idea of movement, but it’s not the same as with a racecar.”
Starting with the original fragrance bottle designed by Marc Newson, Gehry altered and expanded the lines of the bottle to create a curved shape, almost like a sail skimming through the air. Taking a sheet of aluminium and crumpling it like fabric the lid is an ethereal hand-polished cap stamped with the LV seal inside. The bottles are entirely refillable at Louis Vuitton stores, reinforcing the brand’s dedication to sustainability.
