FREDERIC MALLE

Surprisingly, the man behind the Frederic Malle brand is someone with a very similar name, Frederic Malle. Born in Paris in 1962, he comes from a family that had been involved in the perfume industry for some time. His grandfather, Serge Heftler, was one of the founders of the Christian Dior perfume brand, while his mother worked as Christian Dior's art director. It is no surprise, then, that Frederic, exposed to the inner workings of the perfume industry from a very young age, joined the field as an adult and brought his own personal touch to it. A career change. Yet things were not so clear at the outset of his career. In fact, the young Frederic chose to study art history in New York. A few years passed, and only later, in 1986, did he get a position at the famous Roure Bertrand Dupont perfume laboratory. There, Frderic Malle learned about raw materials, composition, and all the other aspects of perfume creation, taught by some of the best professionals in the field. But Frederic wanted more, so he began collaborating with another "nose," Pierre Bourdon. Together, they worked on creating the men's fragrance Mark Birley in 1996. Then came the big moment. After more than 15 years in the industry, he was ready to embark on a new adventure. The perfume's name - Federic Malle. In 2000, drawing on his connections and experience in the industry, Frederic invited nine of the world's leading perfumers to create their own original fragrances. He gave them complete creative freedom, with no financial restrictions on ingredients or technology. The fragrances were eventually packaged in bottles bearing the perfumer's name, the first name by which they were known in the industry. What does that mean? Each perfumer gives their perfume their own name, the traditional name used for the perfumer behind the scenes. But once a perfume is released, credit for the fragrance goes to the fashion house or celebrity on the bottle, with no mention of its creator. In this case, the perfumes were sold in a specially designed store featuring portraits of all the perfumers, as well as cabinets and refrigeration for storing and displaying the fragrances. (Later, the perfumes were also distributed through selected department stores around the world.) The result was the overwhelming success of the nine original fragrances, now considered legendary in the industry. Of course, the fact that the perfumers behind each creation finally received the recognition they deserved also contributed to this success. Federic Malle describes himself as a "perfume editor." Since then, he has worked with other leading perfumers in the industry, whom he calls "perfume authors." To continue publishing new editions of his fragrances, the range later expanded to include candles, innovative home fragrances, soap products, and body care products, all created with the same freedom as the first nine fragrances. The designer's fragrances. Federic Malle has released a total of 42 perfumes to date. The earliest was created in 2000, and the newest is from 2019. His fragrances were created in collaboration with renowned perfumers, including Jean-Claude Ellena, Dominique Ropion, Maurice Roucel, Bruno Jovanovic, Carlos Benaim, Olivia Giacobetti, Pierre Bourdon, Edmond Roudnitska, Edouard Fléchier, Michel Roudnitska, Sophia Grojsman, Fanny Bal, Julien Rasquinet, and Ralph Schwieger. The latter created Lipstick Rose for women. This floral fragrance was first released in 2000 and combines roses, violets, vanilla, amber, grapefruit, irises, blueberries, and white musk. It is a delicate fragrance with moderate presence that lasts on the skin. It is especially suited to pleasant spring evenings.