After a 12-year hiatus from perfume-making, French couture house Balenciaga is re-entering the fray with new scent Balenciaga Paris.

The man behind this violet-based fragrance is French perfumer, Olivier Polge, 36.

Although his father is famous Chanel nose Jacques Polge, who is responsible for modern classics like Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, the younger Polge tells Urban in Paris that there is no rivalry between them.

Despite this laidback attitude, he is no slouch when it comes to olfactory hits. He is
the perfumer behind popular scents like Dior Homme and Burberry The Beat, and won the prestigious Prix International du Parfum prize last year for artistic achievements in the field of perfumery.

To create Balenciaga Paris, he worked closely with Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere, 39.

Ghesquiere says: “Many women have been asking when the next Balenciaga perfume will be coming out. We thought it was the right time, after 12 years, to launch another perfume.”

Founded by Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga in 1918, the fashion house made its first foray into fragrances with Le Dix in 1947. Subsequently, it launched more than 12 fragrances, the last being Cristobal in 1998.

These have been discontinued. Caroline Javoy, Coty Prestige’s vice-president of marketing for Balenciaga Fragrances, says the objective of launching Balenciaga Paris is to reinstate Balenciaga in the fragrance market and reinforce Coty’s upscale designers portfolio and its positioning in the French market.

The new perfume is the first under a new fragrance licensing agreement between Balenciaga and German-owned fragrance giant Coty.

To echo the brand’s signature structured garments, the new scent comes in a bottle shaped like the cocoon coat – an iconic Balenciaga silhouette.

The ivory ring and crackled stopper also bears the brand’s iconic colours – ivory and white. The face of the perfume, Franco-British actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, is Ghesquiere’s friend and muse.

Says Polge: “Like every creator, I have ingredients, like the violet, that tickle my fantasy.”

See the perfume:

>> Balenciaga Paris

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.