Footwear designer Christian Louboutin unveils his brand’s first signature fragrances
For the last two years, French footwear designer Christian Louboutin has been quietly concocting his first signature fragrances.
While his initial plan was to create a single scent, Louboutin ended up narrowing the 120 submissions from 30 different perfumers down to a trio of women’s fragrances — the rose-violet-cassis Tornade Blonde (described as “the scent of love and adventure”); the iris-patchouli-amber Trouble in Heaven (“mysterious and sexy”); and the jasmine-tuberose Bikini Questa Sera (meaning “Bikini Tonight” in Italian — “intimate, hot and compelling”). Presented in sculptural, undulating glass bottles created with British architect Thomas Heatherwick, the fragrances ($275 each) premiered Sept. 7 at Christian Louboutin boutiques and christianlouboutin.com.
In 2014, Louboutin initially expanded his global shoes and accessories brand into the beauty realm with a line of nail lacquers. Last year, lipsticks and lip pencils joined the mix, and, this past June, the brand introduced an array of eight high-shine lip lacquers. While visiting Los Angeles in June, the famed 53-year-old designer talked to us about his first foray into fragrance.
What parameters did you give the perfumers?
The first thing I asked is that the scent not only be an emulation of femininity but in a classical way without too much opulence. I told them, “Give me the essence of the scent. Something that you would be happy to live with yourself — on your wife, on your daughter.” Not guidelines like, “a super-sexy Parisian woman.” I wanted it to be a scent of drifting and of freedom and I said, “Be free to use whatever you want.” It needs to be very emotional. That was my only guideline.
How did you end up with three scents?
I kept narrowing the scents but then I realized it was really difficult to shrink everything into one. And I have a very personal reason. I have three older sisters. So I thought it almost impossible to imagine one scent or one persona. It was like asking me to decide who is my favorite sister. There was no possible comparison because the scents are really different, and they all achieved what I wanted. Also, I personally use one scent in hot weather and [another] scent during my working days in Paris. It’s impossible to measure that everyone will go to the same scent. And I don’t know many people who stick with one scent forever.
Is one of the fragrances more L.A. — and do you have one in mind for each sister?
L.A. is probably between Tornade Blonde and Bikini Questa Sera, but it really depends on the person. I would say that two of my sisters fit Trouble in Heaven and the other sister is definitely Tornade Blonde.
What scent are you wearing now?
4711, a German cologne in a beautiful blue-and-gold bottle, and I am always showering myself. Voilà! [His assistant hands the bottle to him, and he sprays the fragrance profusely.] It is [one of] the oldest colognes, created in Cologne [in the 18th century].
Do you have any distinctive scent memories?
It’s funny. My memories are more about gestures around scents. I totally remember a bottle of my mother’s fragrance and the gesture — how she was putting the fragrance on. But when I smell the fragrance, it does not remind me of anything about her. I do have memories of odors like cut grass, fruit palms, water and definitely gardens. I think of me as a teenager, drunk on bad alcohol by this big honeysuckle [bush]. My friends were shaking me, saying, “Move, move, move!” But I just stayed there because the honeysuckle scent was so nice.
