The complexities of relationship between the owner or Creative Director of a perfume brand and ‘le nez’ is one that is still kept a secret by many companies. One of the most successful such collaborations involves the visionary behind Parfums DelRae and the renowned perfumer Michel Roudnitska.  To gain rare insight into the creative process of one of niche’s most celebrated lines of perfumes, Michelyn Camen recently talked to the dynamic DelRae Roth, CEO and Creative Director of Parfums DelRae and Michel Roudnitksa about collaborating, being an American in Paris, and the melon-scented tale behind her latest fragrance, Emotionnelle (available at Barneys and LuckyScent.com) - a “gourmand” mix of melon, tangerine, bergamon and Ylang-ylang (top); violet flowers & leaves, jasmine, rose, prune, and iris (middle); and a base of cedarwood, vetiver, labdanum, cloves, vanilla, amber, cinnamon, and honey.

Michelyn Camen: Please give a very brief description of what inspired you to create Parfums DelRae, and why you decided to create a line of fragrances?

DelRae Roth: The simple answer is that I wanted to change my life!

And in thinking seriously about that, I knew that I wanted to combine some of the things I loved, and was ready to take risks and to put myself ‘out there’. As a friend said, it was time to exercise my ’savoir faire’. Also I was increasingly disappointed with what the perfume world was putting on the market. I felt that there was an audience for more inspired, exquisite perfumes. It was almost 2001, and the niche market was just starting to get attention. So the timing seemed right.

MC: What distinguishes Parfums DelRae from the hundreds of new niche lines? What is truly different about the brand and the perfumes?

DR: I think Parfums DelRae is distinguished in the niche market by the complexity and originality of the fragrances. My vision is of rich, complex perfume, with a classical construction, using wonderful materials. The concentration is at 17%—20%, I don’t use any colorings or preservatives— the quality is paramount.
MC: With the niche market so crowded, what are your thoughts about these hundreds of fragrances claiming to be niche?  And, in your opinion, what qualifies a scent as a niche perfume?

DR: The niche market has really exploded, as the industry is really looking to niche to see where to go. It’s where the real risks are taken. To me, a niche brand represents genuine quality and exclusivity. And, perhaps most importantly, these brands have a vision, a real point of view. Because of this focus, these brands tend to be smaller and have a creative visionary directing development. My experience suggests that if you are trying to satisfy everyone, it is not possible to be innovative and qualitative.

MC: All your five fragrances were formulated by Michel Roudnitska, one of the greatest contemporary perfumers in the world. How did you meet? What is the secret of your ongoing collaborative relationship?

DR: I had the concepts for my first three perfumes fairly well developed. I began ordering oils from France and mixing and so on. But I realized early on that I needed to work with someone who had the training in fine perfumery to assist me. I had the ideas, the creative direction, but not the formal training. And I didn’t want to go back to school!  So, I contacted Michel, introduced myself, explained my situation and my ideas, and asked if he was open to working this way. It was quite straightforward, but also very unusual at the time, as I was American, a woman, and not from this ‘world”. I went to the south of France and Michel and I began working.

I think the success of our collaboration is, as in all satisfying collaborative efforts, that we respect each other. We each bring something to the table, as it is my company, I bring the creative concept, the name of the perfume and direct the development of the perfume until it is at the point where I am very pleased and feel it reflects my intention. With that of couse, as it is my company, I also assume all the risk.

Michel has the technical background, and great passion for the art form, and he appreciates this very wonderful creative opportunity. Collaborations can be difficult and complicated. As a designer I am very much use to this kind of creative process, and I find that if a person is  talented and secure, they will often be open, appreciative and generous. To create something at this intimate level, freely, collaboratively, it’s a very great luxury.
MC: With you in San Francisco and Michel in Paris, how do you achieve such amazing scent synergy?

DR: I always meet first with whomever I work with, because I need to explain the idea, and to see their reaction. I want to be sure that the concept excites them. With Michel, because the first three perfumes were so influenced by San Francisco, he also came here and we talked and walked. I showed him some of the places I love, so he could really understand. Along with my trips to France, FedEx and email it all works very well.

MC: The names of your fragrances seem to be spot on to each scent. Which comes first the ‘emotion/fragrance name ‘ or the fragrance itself?
DR: I name all of my children! It is very important to me that the name reflect the personality of the perfume and help tell the story. I decide on the name for the perfume at the very beginning when I am conceptualizing the fragrance.

MC: Parfums DelRae is best known for Bois de Paradis.  Did you have any idea when you approved the last lab sample it would be such a critical and commercial success?

DR: Well, you never know what will happen. Bois was difficult to fine-tune. It took quite a while until I felt the balance - rose, wood, spice, gourmand - was right.  I was particularly focused that it not be too sweet, not too woody. Bois de Paradis has a very sensual personality, and so it “shows” very well. I am thrilled so many people love it.

MC: Your latest fragrance ‘Emotionnelle’ is so very different from anything you have created. Already the blogs are hypothesizing and guessing why ‘melon’ was chosen as a central ingredient. Why melon? Tell us the story of Emotionnelle and the woman you created this scent for.
DR: I was going through an old journal that I had kept while staying in Paris and noted many of the things I enjoyed eating, smelling. This was an important trip for me, I was a bit adrift and that’s when I fell in love with Paris, and began to feel at home. It was an emotional trip, and represented a big shift for me personally. I began to wonder if I could make a perfume reflecting this feeling of possibility, expansiveness. What would that smell like?

And so I proposed this idea to Michel, together with the name, my list of ingredients and the olfactive profile. The melon note was added towards the end of the development. I very much wanted to create something unusual and beautiful. I love Charentais melons (with port poured in the center it is divine!), so the melon note was quite interesting to me. The melon adds transparency, freshness, and a certain mouthwatering quality, plus it enhances some of the other notes, especially the violet. I don’t think of it as the center of the perfume, but it does introduce the “cast of characters” in a very compelling and interesting way. I think this perfume will appeal to women who are sensual, creative and sophisticated.

MC: Michel, thank you very much for joining us for this interview. Can you give our readers your perspective and tell us more about the composition of Emotionelle?

Michel Roudnitska:  Emotionelle was the result of a close collaboration between DelRae and me. She had quite a precise idea of what she wanted to express through this fragrance, it was related to memories of her trip to Paris 25 years ago. A very emotional trip which changed her life, as it is for many people.  Paris became my “idealized” place, where the drama and poignant beauty of life seemed filled with endless possibilities. Dreams seemed to be within reach, and everyday was filled with excitement and revelations.

After DelRae mentioned some ingredients she would like to be in this fragrance as bergamot, cardamoms, plum, violet, jasmin, angelic, amber, vanilla, tonka beans, musk, I began working on this new concept with no preconceived idea, just starting from zero. After a few months and several tests, the fragrance was well balanced but lacking of personality, so I proposed to add some new notes on which I have been working for 20 years and that could fit with this accord. It was a personal composition based on melon, violet leaf and some spicy leather notes.

DelRae liked this new approach and even encouraged me to increase this specific melon note combined with the jasmine note. This gave to the fragrance a more sparkling, “gourmand” and addictive aspect that was in complete harmony with my own taste.

I really love this fragrance: it’s the fusion of DelRae’s dream and mine, an “accord” quite difficult to achieve because of the violent and unusual aspects of some green top notes, but when you have accepted to go through this first reaction, you become completely addicted to this fragrance.

- Michelyn Camen

Camen is the New York City based global fragrance expert and the owner of FifthSense N.Y.C. where she consults for luxury perfumers and fragrance companies, and provides personalized fragrance consultations based on body chemistry, psychology, fashion, and lifestyle.  She is a Senior Contributor for http://Fragrantica.com  In addition, she is the Fragrance Columnist for http://www.uptownsocial.net, the former Senior Contributing Writer for Sniffapalooza Magazine, New in Niche Columnist for Basenotes and Editorial Director/Fragrance Editor for Beauty News NYC & LA. Email her at Michelyn AT Fashiontribes DOT com.

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Each of the five pocket-sized, ultra-light “pebbles” contains a fave Kenzo scent, three for her (FlowerbyKenzo, KenzoAmour, L’eauparKenzo) and two for him (L’eauparKenzo & Kenzo Homme).  Designed by Karim Rashid to fit ergonomically into the palm of the hand, they make it easy to live up to their name - Ryoko, Japanese for travel. Available at KenzoUSA.com.

Tags: vogue, fashion, clothes

Tags: vogue, clothes, fashion

Tags: clothes, vogue, fashion

Jetsetting glamour gets that much more affordable starting November 14th, when Jimmy Choo brings shoes, bags, accessories and a capsule collection of clothing to more than 250 H&M stores around the world.  Lucky Fashionistos, too…the collaboration also includes a men’s collection of shoes, bags, and accessories. “We are privileged to be among the fashion greats who have been affiliated with H&M,” notes Tamara Mellon, Founder and President of Jimmy Choo, “to be designing a collection that will appeal to fashion-savvy, street-smart women and to be including some great pieces for men, too.”

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Oh, the old-fashioned bother of having to carry armfuls of stuff into clothing changing rooms, not to mention buying uncoordinated items that later need to be returned.  Next time, try Schway: a 2.0 way to shop online that brings back memories of playing dress-up with those paper fashion dolls of yore, except now the clothes are the latest looks from e-tailers including Liberty, Next, Shop Direct and Aftershock…and you can buy them for yourself.  Pick from dresses, tops, bottoms, and accessories which can be easily be popped on and off the mannequin - and even rotated for the rear view - with a simple mouse click. “Schway makes online shopping more fun,” agrees Marian Buckley, Editorial Consultant for sofeminine.co.uk (part of the AuFeminin Group based in Paris) where the app recently launched.  “It gives visitors the opportunity to be creative and experiment with outfits.”  Check it out at sofeminine.co.uk.

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Thanks to endless fashion magazines, countless style blogs, and a zillion reality shows on the topic - everyone’s suddenly a fashion expert…which is enough to make any fashion expert contemplate other pursuits.  Before it comes to that, simplify!  Mal Sirrah recently curated the “One-Dress” project, a collaboration with over 1000 women from across the globe, all social-media’ing via Facebook, MySpace, aSmallWorld, and Twitter to share info about their lifestyles, dreams, and desires as they relate to dresses.  Sharing their likes and dislikes in fabrics, colors, necklines, and silhouettes, a single, universal dress was conceived. Made from 100% silk knit jersey and available in four colors, it can be draped and wrapped as many ways as you can imagine; best of all, a portion of the proceeds benefit WOMANKIND Worldwide, a charity devoted to helping impoverished women improve their lives and lift their families and communities out of poverty.

Interestingly, this single-dress idea is picking up supporters as a way to make a stylish statement against rampant consumerism and mass-marketed McTaste. For her Uniform Project, Sheena Matheiken is wearing the same Eliza Starbuck dress every day for a year as an exercise in sustainable fashion inspired by her Catholic School Uniform-clad childhood:

“Despite the imposed conformity, kids always found a way to bend the rules and flaunt a little personality…I now want to put the same rules to test again, only this time I’m trading in the catholic school fervor for an eBay addiction and relocating the school walls to this wonderful place called the internet.”  It’s also functioning as a year-long fundraiser for The Akanksha Foundation, which brings education to slum children in India. (via NBC Miami & Racked)

Seattle artist Alex Martin previously designed and sewed a single Little Brown Dress that she wore everyday for a year, with the added constraint that anything she wore it with - accessories, shoes, layers - was already either in her wardrobe already or second-hand in origin.  Dipping temperatures necessitated an emergency run to Goodwill for two sweaters, but remarkably, she only spent $20 on clothing during the entire year! “In this performance, I challenged myself to reject the economic system that pushes over-consumption, and the bill of goods that has been sold, especially to women, about what makes a person good, attractive and interesting,” she explains about her mono-dress version of fashion detox. “Clothes are a big part of this image, and the expectation in time, effort, and financial investment is immense.”

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Summer weekends were made for swingy floral frocks like this one from Unique Vintage - brightly hued, unapologetically feminine, and sweet (like you!).  The vintage styling begs for feminine accessories that are ladylike, but not too retro (lacks imagination) which is why this geometric bamboo bag couldn’t be more perfect.  With anything pink - ditto red, green, or royal purple - never ever be tempted to wear shoes that match…it looks beyond cheesy.  Instead, go for nude tones both with your bag & shoes (these are by Easy Spirit) - which have the added benefit of making your legs look that much longer.  To complete the picture, add some delicate amethyst and gold earrings and coordinating rose-tinted Miu Miu sunglasses.

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Just as bank accounts everywhere were starting to breathe a sigh of relief that the era of the four-figure “it” bag had ended, something far more fiscally-fatal (and five-figured) this way comes for Fall: a breathtaking update on the most coveted bag ever that somehow manages to bring it on without blinging it on. “My idea was to work around the trompe l’oeil concept with the Birkin,” Hermes designer, Jean Paul Gaultier, recently explained to Harper’s Bazaar. “The flap, straps, and clochette seem to have been chiseled in the raw material, the result of unbelievable craftsmanship.”  And the price for all this glam sans glitz? If you have to ask…(well, okay, just under $11,000).

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JCE: They would be friends, not famous people because I would be too impressed.

MC: Your first olfactive memory?
JCE: Around four years old, in the kitchen, the smell of the cupboard hiding the cookies box.

MC: Your muse?
JCE: Life.

MC: Does your creativity come always from within you, or has a spirit outside yourself, greater than yourself ever involve itself in your work?
JCE: From within me. I believe in humanity above all.

MC: Your favourite food?
JCE: Truffle.

MC: An artist whose work fascinates you?
JCE: Cézanne.

MC: Most memorable book?
JCE: La Nouvelle Grille d’Henri Laborit (and the movie from this book: Mon Oncle d’Amérique directed by Alain Resnais)

MC:  Your birth sign?
JCE: Cat! (I just invented it)  [Note: Mr. Ellena is an Aries.]

MC: The last dream you can remember?
JCE: Last night. It was about a lecture I was doing and for which I had difficulties.

THE FRIEND

MC:  The great perfumer Edmond Roudnitska was a mentor to you. Would you share a personal story about him that speaks to his true nature and to your friendship?
JCE: An anecdote could be a quarrel that I had with him. It was about the concept of the “Beau” (the Beautiful). For him it was a universal notion, for me a cultural notion. This universal conception is from a Platonic way of thinking. Mine is based upon the culture and even based on a generational view. We had tough discussions about that, speaking of philosophy, sociology. It was great!

(Edmond Roudnitska image: source)

THE ARTIST

MC: Your favourite ingredients or raw materials?
JCE: None. Materials are my words, the tools I have to tell a story.

MC: The fragrance you dream of creating?
JCE: The perfume of the Wind.

MC: Which of your other 5 senses (taste, sight, sound, touch, and intuition) has the greatest influence on your work?
JCE:  Touch, the closest sense to smell as it’s the most intimate.

MC: Many of your compositions share the quality of transparency.   What does that quality mean to you?
JCE: I do not cultivate mystery, complication. I prefer the clarity, the understanding. To give to understand it is to offer of the enjoyment.

MC: Five years ago, you were known to a very narrow group, mostly in the industry. Today, with the impact of Chandler Burr’s recent book - Chandler Burr is the Perfume Critic for The New York Times and author of The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York - groups like Sniffapalooza (a global consumer driven organization dedicated to fragrance and events) and the blogosphere, you are famous. Did you ever think you would be known to such a wide circle of people and have groupies like a rock star, who follow your every creation?
JCE: No and it’s “out of me”. I’m simply happy that my works, my creations are the supports to discuss the perfumery.

MC: Although 78% of men wear fragrance, why is there a lack of great masculine being created in the past few years?
JCE: I do not agree. Perfumes like my composition Terre d’ Hermes, Fahrenheit from Dior, Grey Flannel de Geoffrey Beene or Pour Monsieur from Chanel are beautiful perfumes. On the other hand I invite men to use perfumes said feminine and vice versa, the choice will be bigger and this might open the debate.

MC: Some have said that you foreshadowed the trend towards ‘unisex’ fragrances with Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au thé vert. What are your thoughts about unisex fragrances in general? Are they an additional genre or just an excuse to cover the fact that there are so few new ideas for masculine?
JCE: I do not use the wording “unisex”, I prefer to say: to be shared. Actually, as I tend to conceive the perfume as an art, it’s an obviousness that perfumes are for everybody and for each of us, as all other artistic expressions. The distinction masculine / feminine is economic, not creative. The perfumery history and the culture of certain countries show well that perfumes do not have a sexual classification.

The idea is not to wear the perfume of his wife but to be curious, to ignore the social codes, the cultural codes which are mainly based on a commercial value. Then to be open minded which mean being able to wear women’s fragrances if a man like one.

MC: Hermès is one of the greatest brands of all time. Some say you are one of the greatest perfumers of all time. Does one sacrifice a bit for the other?
JCE: No, it’s a genuine encounter, and I’m here to express Hermès

MC: Each Hermessence seems to be an etude of a single ingredient. For example Brin de Réglisse is an etude of lavender. The Hermessence line seems built around the notion of reinventing an ingredient and presenting it in a thought provoking interpretation.  Which raw material has presented the most challenge and why?
JCE: Each is a challenge, a splendid challenge. But to answer your question, I would say Paprika Brasil because I tried to make perceptible (emotionally speaking) the sensation of burn of the hot piment on the tongue, which is not an olfactive sensation actually.

MC: I am fascinated by the potential of orange blossom as an etude, there are so few that are well done. Do you have any plans for a Hermessence with this raw material?
JCE: Not at the moment. The raw materials by themselves don’t represent anything for me. However I do need them to create but the way I will work with the ingredient is more important.

MC: For your latest Hermessence Vanille Galante, I have a number of questions: What story are you telling with Vanille Galante? And how does the word “Galante” using the feminine instead of the masculine relate to this story?
JCE: Another point of view, another glance on vanilla. The word “galante” uses the feminine because in French grammar vanilla is feminine, then galante as to be feminine as well, meaning subtle, delicate.

MC: What image or experience was your point of departure?
JCE: A new absolute of vanilla initially made for the aromas I’ve made transform for perfumery use. But this absolute was finally only a pretext for an exercise in style.

MC: I would love to know more about the salicylates in the base of Vanille Galante; as far as I’ve been able to puzzle it out, they don’t seem to be aroma chemicals as much as structural elements.  Is this correct?  If so, how do they transform the other notes?
JCE: Salicylates are a family of material that is indeed not only creating the fragrance but also contributes to its structure. I consider that a structuring product is a raw material which moves the purpose of the perfume. Raw materials such as patchouli, clove, coumarine, and phenyl ethylique alcohol are raw materials that structure a perfume.

MC: Please share the background on your updating of Kelly Caleche from the original Caleche formulation. And as a follow up, is it unusual for Hermes to create what some in the industry call ‘flankers’, or updates on a fragrance?  Please share with our readers the reason you reinterpreted Kelly Caleche into Kelly Caleche Pure Perfume and Eau de Parfum. It seems to me that the Pure Perfume is dramatically different from the EDT and even the EDP.
JCE: I respect Hermès customers and our perfumes, so for me it’s impossible to only increase the concentration to create a Pure Perfume. These are not “flankers” but a Hermès creative approach, a creative way to see the exercise from Eau de Toilette to Pure Perfume as a genuine creation that goes beyond a technical or performance work. Actually, all my works are olfactive variations as they are creations in their own right, not a technical adaptation. It was actually the same in the past at Hermès, for 24, Faubourg for example whose Eau de Toilette is subtly different from the Eau de Parfum

So for the Kelly Calèche Pure Perfume, I wanted to stress the carnal, sensual expression of the original theme, and this is not only a matter of concentration but a matter of formula as well.

MC: You have composed a trio of new fragrances that has just been released. Please share with us their raison d’etre?
JCE: More than new fragrances, the Hermès Colognes collection actually invest a new territory of olfactive expression: the Cologne (not the American way to describe men’s perfume). The Colognes territory at Hermès has already been inaugurated with Eau d’orange verte, created by Françoise Caron in 1979, I’ve added this year 2 new creations Eau de pamplemousse rose and Eau de gentiane blanche that create the collection and expand the territory.

Eau de pamplemousse rose is not about “pink grapefruit” but about grapefruit and rose. I like this idea to play with the smells and with the words. This Cologne is a contemporary ‘classic’ because with a main citrus basis.

The second one, Eau de gentiane blanche, is conceived as a counterpart of the Cologne style at it expresses the idea of the freshness and “clean” not through citrus but through the white musk, that converted in a new symbol of freshness (so the gentian is called “white” (“blanche” in French) because of the white musk, like a play on words.

The idea was born with a gentian absolute and the iris (to note that the gentian is used for the first time in a perfume). With those two roots, the first one with its smell of root, both bitter (I like the bitter) and darkly fresh, the second for its matt powder effect, it soapy smell  which is the link with the white musk that I’ve added as the third main note. With those two different Colognes, I wanted to play with the codes of the “freshness” from the 20th and 21st centuries.

MC: Your quote from the New York Times: “When I write a perfume, the scents are the words,” he [JCE] said. “And with these words I construct a story. There is breathing, and there are transitions, just as in sentences. Perfume, first of all, is a mental construction.”  Tell us more about fragrance as a lingua franca.

JCE: The idea that the smells are words, my words to write (this verb is important for me) explains my way of thinking the perfume. I believe that the perfume is a cultural language, not universal as can be the music today. It is necessary to learn the smell to understand the perfume. We can like without understanding but it is to do without certain enjoyments.

I want my olfactive language to be harmonious, pleasant to ‘listen to’ because it’s moderate, and doesn’t support the concept of noise and shouting. In a way, it’s the very French way of literature for statement of love; it’s not just a chance that French is the language for love.

- Michelyn Camen

Camen is the New York City based global fragrance expert and the owner of FifthSense N.Y.C. where she consults for luxury perfumers and fragrance companies, and provides personalized fragrance consultations based on body chemistry, psychology, fashion, and lifestyle.  She is a Senior Contributor for http://Fragrantica.com  In addition, she is the Fragrance Columnist for http://www.uptownsocial.net, the former Senior Contributing Writer for Sniffapalooza Magazine, New in Niche Columnist for Basenotes and Editorial Director/Fragrance Editor for Beauty News NYC & LA. Email her at Michelyn AT Fashiontribes DOT com.

Tags: vogue, clothes, fashion