Polge junior cuts an impressive figure:
tall, dark, handsome (imagine British actor
Matthew Goode, only with a French
accent) with a penchant for well-tailored
suits and crisp shirts. He looks right at
home at Chanel HQ where we meet to
sample his creation, a heady, ultra-feminine
fragrance that takes its cues from Chanel’s
defining years during the roaring 20s.
“The idea I had was not to try to translate
Misia’s personality or her friendship with
Gabrielle through the fragrance, but one
certain moment,” explains Olivier of his
muse. “Misia introduced Gabrielle to many
important people – everyone who counted
at the time – but the most important was
probably Sergei Diaghilev [founder of the
Ballet Russes]. I wanted to capture, in an
idealised way, the scent of the artists coming
on stage, their poudre, their blush ...”
For his first task in his new post, Olivier
delved into the archives and found himself
drawn to this enchanting moment in
Chanel’s history. “There are few times
when there has been such artistic dynamism
and it says a lot about Gabrielle that she
was in the middle of all that,” he says.
As destiny might have it, Olivier is
a natural choice for this position, but it
wasn’t always his plan to follow in his
father’s footsteps. He took up art history at
first and had a passion for music, practising
the piano every day. However, after
spending a summer interning in the Chanel
Fragrance Laboratory, he was seduced.
“I remember being surprised to discover
the way it was crafted,” he says, still with a
little wonder in his voice. “I spent a month
surrounded by bottles and was given
formulas to work with – I was also seduced
by things I could do with my hands.”Rather than taking him under his wing
in an official sense, his father had the
foresight to “send him away” so Olivier
might build on his experience elsewhere,
until he was ready to return to Paris. When
the opportunity at Chanel presented itself,
Olivier admits he had some hesitations, but
he was ultimately unable to resist. “What is
beautiful about Chanel is it’s the only place
where we create and produce perfume in an
integrated way,” he says. “It’s the only place
where this work is taken so seriously.”And did his father offer him counsel? “He
advised me to come,” he says with a grin.
Olivier’s debut fragrance is quite
symbolic, in the sense it brings the heritage
and history of the house to the modern
consumer. Much in the same way a legacy
is passed from father to son. For Misia, he
found the touchstones and romance of
yesteryear by using violet, which recalls the
powdery accents of make-up, and rose
(a combination of Chanel ’s Grasse rose and
Turkish rose oil), which adds a velvety
lushness to the fragrance. The sweetness of
the tonka bean and benzoin linger long
after the fragrance has been sprayed.
But truly, one should close their eyes and
let the scent of Misia transport them to
another time. Picture the Opera Garnier
on opening night, the rustle of skirts as
people settle in their seats, their quiet
chatter humming about the room as the
orchestra tune their instruments in the pit
below. Backstage, the dancers are doing
their stretches in the wings, the scent of
their lipstick and powdery blush whispers
about the room. Then, the dramatic
opening strings of Stravinsky’s Apollo
signal the start of the ballet and the
curtains raise. Coco is there, watching
from her balcony in all her Chanel finery,
with Misia right by her side.“CHANEL IS THE
ONLY PL ACE
WHERE THIS
WORK IS TA K EN
)%È)( %+)"/S■Clockwise from left:
Olivier Polge; Misia Sert;
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
(left) and Sert (centre)
in Venice, 1925; a
sketched profile of Sert.118 – MAY 2015
vogue BEAUTY
IMAGES COURTESY OF CHANEL, HORST P HORST ESTATE, ©PRIVATE COLLECTION, ©COLLECTION PIERRETTE ET THIERRY BODIN