Matthieu Boissonnet, General Manager of Courrèges Parfums, unpacks the French fashion house’s approach to reviving the iconic fragrance that’s unabashedly bold in notes and aesthetic.
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
A skincare and beauty routine are key to start any day (successfully!). I usually always spray myself with a perfume from our newest launches or some of the work-in-progress creations, but my personal favourite fragrance is Hyper Oud from the Hyper collection.
The essence of the Colorama fragrance is about innovation, modernity, and sustainability. How does the perfume tell that story?
When relaunching the fragrances, Nicolas Di Felice, the artistic director, was inspired to bring the historical bottle created by André Courrèges in 1970 back. He resized the bottle and placed the logo in the center to modernize it. It was also extremely crucial to have a sustainable approach for us and so the glass bottle consists of 40 per cent recycled glass. Additionally, all our fragrances are made from 85 per cent natural ingredients and our caps are made from natural materials, whilst some are made from lacquered wood.
How does this fragrance revival expand the customers’ understanding of the brand?
Courrèges is a global brand, but above all, a fashion house since 1961. The fragrances are complementary to Courrèges fashion. It is the final touch. This is why you can see that our bottles have been dressed like a vinyl jacket with a shiny and glossy effect, taking inspiration from the fashion collections.
Matthieu Boissonnet, General Manager of Courrèges Parfums
What was the inspiration behind the visuals of the Colorama fragrances?
We wanted to display the key connection between fashion and perfume, each T-shirt featured in the campaign resembles the colour of one of the perfume bottles. The models in the campaign can be seen imitating the removal of their clothes which signifies how, even when you remove clothing you are still left with perfume on, like a second skin. Second Skin is also the name of one of the fragrances within the Colorama collection: Seconde Peau.
To you, visually, what do you see when you smell the scents and how would you define these characteristics?
When you smell Courrèges fragrances, they always have a fresh start, a truly olfactory signature of the house. Then…like a surprise, you begin to smell the warm and spicy notes at the very heart of the fragrance. All our fragrances have a musky base note which gives warmness and sensuality. Each fragrance has its own story that you can picture when you spray. Personally, I always picture the Courrèges universe, a white environment resembling pureness with touches of colours. Each fragrance leads the way to the ready-to-wear collections, echoing to Nicolas Di Felice’s creations and inspirations.
Tell us more about different notes of the fragrance and how they complement the Courrèges FW24 ready-to-wear collection.
In the Fall/ Winter 2024 collection, Nicolas Di Felice emphasises simplicity and sensuality. He plays with asymmetry against a touch of romantic spirit, with silhouettes that are very fluid. The show features a floor in the shape of a diaphragm, placed at the centre of the set and it rises and falls to the rhythm of the breaths and heartbeats emanating from the speakers. The Slogan fragrance truly complements this radical yet romantic aesthetics of emotion: the energy of free and moving bodies. Our creations bring together that rhythmic movement and olfactory addiction, the scent of a beating heart. Nicolas Di Felice himself said, “I wanted to celebrate being alive, vitality. To reveal that invisible and intimate space where bodies that meet and recognise each other become simply the rhythm of hearts beating in unison.”
What are the challenges you encountered in creating this perfume?
We had the chance to freely create without any marketing constraints. Nicolas Di Felice is giving his inspiration and therefore we are not searching to reach any specific target group. It is truly a creation from an artistic point of view. The only challenge we faced was putting all of Nicolas Di Felice’s inspirations and creativity in a bottle.
What can we be changing with the way we put on a fragrance to make a bold impression?
You can always layer, I mean adding two fragrances on the skin at the same time. This allows you to create a unique combo that fits your own personality. A tailor-made fragrance, “sur mesure” as we would say. My favourite way to apply fragrance is directly to the neck and the wrists, these are the sensual and very intimate pulse points. You can also change your fragrance in the evening to suit your mood and be truly bold.
What’s one thing you’ve learned from working in the beauty industry that most people wouldn’t know?
Fragrance is all about emotions and feeling. Even if it is a formula, the effect that it has on us, is not something you can measure with a machine. Wearing a fragrance links to your personal mood and your memories, so it is never possible to anticipate the effect a fragrance will have on each and everyone. This unpredictability is really what makes this industry so interesting and keeps us all passionate at Courrèges.
“We at Courrèges have embraced the challenge to rejuvenate a 60-year- old fashion and fragrance brand into one of the most trendy, young, energetic brands”
This is The Bold Issue–what does being bold mean to you?
To me, being bold is a day-to-day motto. We at Courrèges have embraced the challenge to rejuvenate a 60-year-old fashion and fragrance brand into one of the most trendy, young, energetic brands. This challenge is possible thanks to the patrimonial heritage of André Courrèges and, of course, the talented Nicolas di Felice leading this revival.
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