GQ Australia - 08.2018

ABOVE
Jacques Cavallier
Belletrud has helped
create more than 80
fragrances throughout his
career; the rich aroma of
the cedrat, known as the
godfather of lemons, was
used in the making of the
‘Sur la Route’ scent.

natural, raw essences from around the

world, his perfumes are a luxurious exercise

in purity, and are subject to the supply and

demand of these ingredients whose scarcity,

he admits, can be a genuine factor in not only

price, but also availability. For Louis Vuitton,

these include organic materials like French

jasmine, Indonesian patchouli, Sri Lankan

sandalwood, Guatemalan cardamom,

Chinese osmanthus, Peruvian balsam

from Salvador and bergamot from

Calabria in Italy.

Louis Vuitton’s ive new scents span

a tight spectrum of classical ideas, ranging

from the fresh and approachable through

to smoky citrus, all the way to oud-based

styles that harness new interest in sweeter,

Middle Eastern perfume traditions.

However, when it came to naming each

creation, Cavallier Belletrud stuck to his

mother tongue, following suit from the

women’s line to conjure evocative names

from ‘Orage’ (Storm), ‘Sur la Route’ (On the

Road), and ‘Nouveau Monde’ (New World),

to ‘L’Immensité’ (Immensity) and

‘Au Hasard’ (By Chance).

‘Orage’, our personal favourite, considers

powdery Iris and warm patchouli notes lifted

by acidic bergamot and smoky vetiver, while

inside ‘Sur la Route’, the tricky rub of Italian

cedrat lemon against cedar provides a most

compelling effect. ‘Nouveau Monde’ is

a spicy, sweet perfume – marrying cocoa

resinoids with saffron and leathery oud assam

• surely one of the collection’s more daring
  departures. No doubt holding a broader
  appeal, the freshness of ‘L’Immensité’ is
  attributed to bold notes of ginger, grapefruit,
  and ‘ambroxan’ amber, while ‘Au Hasard’
  traverses spicier territory thanks to the
  unexpected crash of cardamom,
  sandalwood, and ‘ambrette’ mallow.
  “A perfume is an idea I have in my mind,”
  said Cavallier Belletrud, presenting his latest
  concoctions to GQ in Grasse this April. “I see
  colours, I see smells. It’s very virtual. And
  then I translate it in terms of ingredients and
  proportions in the computer. I can send it
  from Taipei, from Tokyo, from my bed. The
  idea goes on paper so I don’t forget it. If it’s
  a good idea, and it happens sometimes, I can
  ind that document and reproduce it forever.”
  Packaged in the same Marc Newson-
  designed apothecary bottle as the original
  women’s line (replete with its hidden pump
  pack and near-invisible stem) the Louis
  Vuitton men’s perfumes are deined by
  a switch from metallic gold accents to a deep
  titanium silver tone, yet past the packaging,
  there’s no doubt these essences share an
  innately subtle sophistication with their
  female predecessors. As far as boutique
  fragrances go, these are luxe scents for smooth
  operators who consider scent is an intrinsic
  accessory, not a personality placebo. 

1821

BirthofLouis

Vuitton

1858

Creation of the

groundbreaking

flat trunk in grey

Tr i a n o n c a nva s.

1930

Creation of the

‘Keepall’bag,the

most legendary of

all Louis Vuitton

travel bags.

1854

Louis Vuitton

founds his

company and

opens his first

store in Paris.

1859

Construction

of the first

Louis Vuitton

workshop in

Asnières.

1993

Launch of the

‘Taiga’ line for

men.

2017

Launch

of ‘Masters’,

a collaboration

with Jeff Koons

2018

Virgil Abloh

installed as

men’s artistic

director.

2016

Launch

of Louis

Vuitton

fragrance,

for women.

LV T I M E LI N E

OF FIRSTS

AUGUST 2018 GQ.COM.AU 67