“I’ve not even told anyone in the company this but somebody at our factory at Pantin was going to throw away a lot of old papers. We have a conservatoire, a private museum where we keep lots of Mademoiselle’s possessions and archives, and the person responsible for that went to see what they were going to throw away. Included in the papers were old formulas that Mademoiselle Chanel created, like Une Idée and 1940 – very old fragrances that nobody remembers and I have to see what can be done with those in the future,” says Jacques Polge, the in-house Chanel nose, in an interview to Alison Kerr.
Doesn’t that sound exciting! Read the rest of the article. Thank you to Tammy for the link.
16 Comments
mc: Hi Victoria,
The FT also has a good long piece on fragrance today, and on the growing interest in “vintage” perfumes in particular.
http://www.image.ft.com/adimages/rich-banner/htsiapriladvertorial40.html
And go to page 29/30. April 2, 2006 at 9:10am
BoisdeJasmin: Mike, thank you very much! I am waiting for the magazine to download. “Vintage” perfumes is a very interesting trend. As someone who loves vintage fragrances in general, I welcome it. On the other hand, often the reissues are very pale and different from the originals (because of ethical/health/economic considerations). I dream of Jacques Fath Iris Gris being relaunched, however when I imagine that the iris in it might be replaced by the synthetic variant, I prefer the legend to remain as such. April 2, 2006 at 1:41pm
Robin: Interesting article V…wonder if they mean old EB formulas? April 2, 2006 at 3:46pm
BoisdeJasmin: R, it seems like it. For instance, Une Idée, which Jacques Polge mentions, was created in 1929 by Ernest Beaux. I would love to smell it! April 2, 2006 at 3:52pm
marchlion: OOOoooohhhhh. Doesn’t this brighten the day?!? April 3, 2006 at 9:05am
Judith: Oh, wonderful! That’s all–just wonderful! April 3, 2006 at 9:29am
violetnoir: I love the article and would love to smell these vintage fragrances.
Did you mention in an earlier post that some of the “vintage” Nina Ricci’s may be re-issued later this year? If that was you, please fill us in on any details that you may have.
Thanks, darling V.
Hugs! April 3, 2006 at 12:15pm
BoisdeJasmin: March, it certainly does! I am trying to imagine to Une Idee was like. April 3, 2006 at 1:19pm
michelle: I’m just wondering what idiot would decide to throw away such papers! Clearly not a perfumista. Thank goodness they were salvaged! April 3, 2006 at 1:19pm
BoisdeJasmin: J, isn’t it! I love Beaux’s work.
“I’ve not even told anyone in the company this but somebody at our factory at Pantin was going to throw away a lot of old papers.” This part is outrageous! April 3, 2006 at 1:21pm
BoisdeJasmin: R, I heard something about it, but I do not know which fragrances are to be reissued. I vote for Capricci, which is a beautiful green-spicy floral. I have a tiny bottle of the parfum, and I cherish every drop. April 3, 2006 at 1:22pm
BoisdeJasmin: Michelle, I agree, it is incredible! I am keeping my fingers crossed that these formulas will be used once again. April 3, 2006 at 1:24pm
BoisdeJasmin: Katie, I wonder. Lancome and Guerlain reissues, while not the exact replicas, are close to the originals. Afterall, these vintage reissues are not likely to be very commercial anyway, so if they do decide to refashion them like they refashioned Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, I am all for it. Those were done with great consideration for the old formulas. Gardenia is the only one that ended up as something else altogether. Beaux’s version is quite different. April 3, 2006 at 9:09pm
cheezwiz: Wow, the article about Jacques Polge was fascinating. Kind of like discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls or something! As I type this I am wearing one of the few Chanels that works for me: No 19.
I can only wear this and the original Allure. Haven’t tried Gardenia, but it sounds lovely. April 3, 2006 at 10:34pm
BoisdeJasmin: Isn’t it! I was so fascinated by it.
No. 19 is one of my favourite Chanel fragrances, with Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie among others. Gardenia (1983 reorchestration that is available now) is a lovely blend of jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom–sweet and dewy. April 3, 2006 at 11:28pm
Katie: Oh good lord – how interesting. This ought to prove fun for everyone when and/or if they ever get released in one form or another (I have my doubts there will be much there for extremely close resemblences for any new releases or variations on those older creations, due to so many factors, but still…) Wow! April 3, 2006 at 7:38pm