Interviews

Serge Lutens Interview: Answers!

12/05/11 11:55:23

By: Elena Knezhevich and Jodi Battershell

Dear readers! Serge Lutens answered questions we compiled from the questions of our readers from three Fragrantica sites and Punmiris.com

Maestro, I love you and your creations! Thank you for existing! (from me and readers)

Serge Lutens: Thank you for loving me. I do not know if I deserve it. My best to you and and your loved ones!

Almost all niche brands now have their oud fragrance. Do you plan to create your own oud scent?

Serge Lutens: I have been working on an oud scent for over twenty years. The wood is very rich, which allows a number of variations, from the most animalized, to the more woody when they move away from the beast. I have a whole stock of oud perfumes but this is called into questioned so far by the laws of IFRA. While for the moment, it is tolerated, it may be prohibited at any time. We must therefore resolve the issue of regulation. People take some care to know if I could one day or not release this collection from my reserve.

With the release of Serge Noire, you said it is your favorite fragrance. Is this still so?

Serge Lutens: If I do not wear Serge Noire, I took as much pleasure to compose it as to name it. To tell the truth, I have no preference except, perhaps, always, for the perfume on which I am working at the moment.

Have you ever reformulated anything from your creations to meet IFRA regulations?

Serge Lutens: Laws are a force from which one cannot escape. They are even applied hypocritically, through the circumventing of them or, as with all the world of perfumery (if it wants to be in compliance with these laws), by replacing the forbidden with other elements… which will themselves be prohibited a few months later. However, I do not like to retrogress: what’s done is done, and it is not certain that a perfumery such as mine can continue in the future.

About green notes. You don’t like them. Is it true?

Serge Lutens: It is true that I prefer dry notes. They are nobler in perfumery. As it is with a wine or a house, they age better. However, one cannot make perfumes without using green notes. What we think and express is often distorted and is lost in another reality.

Miel de bois is discontinued. Why?

Serge Lutens: Due to a regulatory issue, a reformulation intervened in the composition of this perfume ... which, therefore, lost its candied timber for the benefit of an ether of honey (a “wooden hive” if you prefer). This fragrance is no longer available in the collection of spray bottles, but is still in the exclusive collection of the Palais Royal Serge Lutens. I hope it will be possible for you get it sometime in the United States.

Our readers want to know about your favorite perfumes from other designers’ lines.

Serge Lutens: To tell the truth, and it is not due to snobbery, the way in which I conceive my perfumery is very “underwater.” I seldom go back to the surface, and I am not enough of a society man to recognize scents which I could appreciate in a movement or a turn of someone’s coat.

You said names are very important for you. Could you please explain the names and inspiration of “Vitriol d’œillet” and “Nuit de cellophane”?

Serge Lutens: If only for the intrigue which they started in you, the names are indeed important. Would you see a film or read a book if the title does not challenge you? Nuit de cellophane (“Night of Cellophane”) gives a shiver as much by the transparency as by its characteristic breaking of the frosted cellophane of a box containing the elegance of an haute-couture dress.

Vitriol d’œillet (“Vitriol of carnation”): it is very strong, very sharp. There is pepper. A certain violence which holds me back. I do not confuse this one with brutality, which is blind and deaf, but with the need at every moment to defend oneself, even if it is with artifices (perfumes, hats… etc).

Juliette has a gun: In the French book Pleasures of Perfume by Beatrice Boisserie and Coco Tassel, you were asked the question: "Which character would you like to perfume?" Your response was "Hitler and Dalida." Would you give the same answer today?

Serge Lutens: Obviously, you understood well that it was a way of saying: I do not have an answer to your question. A perfume does not belong to me. As soon as it leaves its bottle, it belongs to to the person who wears it. What will happen to it is based on that and not myself. A perfume is a consequence to anyone.

What does M. Lutens like to eat? Most of your perfumes contain sweet notes. Do you like sweets?

Serge Lutens: I eat very little, once a day, at night ... since I was fifteen years old! This does not prevent me from going crazy at times and exceeding any moderation, including with champagne (I like the bubbles, they lighten me!). As for sweets, it is true that I am sometimes tempted by them. I love these little “Marie Antoinette” candies in France called Fondants, as they leave the impression of sweetness and at the same time, in their silkiness, a surprisingly small grain of filbert!

Why does the theme of black so often appear in your works?

Serge Lutens: Probably because I experienced the most important things in my life with it. It is no longer a personal taste but a second skin, certainly the first! I was born in 1942; my mother had to leave me for personal reasons, however, during all these years, when I saw her occasionally in real life or in photographs, my mother wore a black dress!

Regarding De profundis (“Out of the depths”): There have been so many different versions on the internet about sources of inspiration for this perfume: The Bible, Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde… .What was it really?

Serge Lutens: We can say everything and the degrees of the imagination on a name can cover a wide spectrum (ah ah ah!) of possibilities. I know the texts by Baudelaire and Wilde but it is not them. They have their "De Profundis," and I have mine. I love the flower and the smell of chrysanthemum. Its bitterness, which may be described as soft, makes this fragrance as deep as a tomb, mingled with the incense, whose taste I cannot separate myself from, before death, of course. But for now, as long as I am alive, I die in great shape.

What words of advice would you offer to someone who wants to begin making his or her own fragrances? How did you begin your own house? Was it easy?

Serge Lutens: You said it yourself: it is necessary to go for it! If you look to the side or behind, that does not work. Immerse yourself, even if you do not go up. Tough luck! Try, I encourage you there. If it had been easy, that would not have interested me.

Many, many questions were received about the possibility to buy your fragrances, especially exclusive line, in the United States, South America, Middle East. Do you plan to make them available outside of France?

Serge Lutens: It is possible but that is a commercial concern and relates little to me. I hope for those who like them that it will be done. (I do not know yet in which form.)

I believe, living in Morocco, you enjoy many wonderful smells everyday. Please tell us, what are they? How does your garden/house/town smell? Why did you choose Morocco to live?

Serge Lutens: For reasons which are not those of perfume, but to put myself at a distance and allow me to regain my senses, to upgrade. My own [reasons], if you prefer. However, one says for a film, a book, and why not a city, “its perfume,” i.e. the essence of itself where one finds himself.

sherapop: "Cher Monsieur Lutens, I have been thinking a lot about perfume reviews and would love to know whether you think that they are (or should be) more like food/wine reviews or film/music/visual art criticism? I’ve been wondering about this question because I noticed that in reviewing perfumes, many people talk more about their subjective experience than about the perfume itself. Is this because we 'ingest' perfume?"

Serge Lutens: The scent is all that remains in us. This is its record, its principle. The comparison is up to the person who speaks. Metaphors—if they are not those of a poet—-are dangerous. They are more or less happy. Watch a child, as you once were: first, he looks and notices (sight, the first sense), then he moves towards its vision given by color, shape, material (it is the instinct, the intuition, the sixth sense); he seizes the thing in his hands (the touch) and, being reactive from the outset, carries it to his nose (this is the fifth sense, smell ). It is even possible that if he likes the thing, he tries to eat it (taste). Ah ah ah!

Is there any difference in quality between your bell line (flacons de table) and “export line” (rectangular) versions for the same perfume?

Serge Lutens: The rectangular range and the selective flacons de table are identical in quality as well from the cost point of view as compositions. Only when the composition is complete do I choose one bottle or the other to contain it. "Ambre Sultan," "Orange Flowers" and "Chergui" are shared among these two options.

Could you please explain the inspiration behind your upcoming L’Eau Froide (“Cold Water”) with the motto: La propreté est un luxe (“Cleanliness is a luxury”). Will you continue this anti-perfume line with the idea of cleanness? It’s quite opposite to what you’ve done before. Can we expect Arabian-style fragrances in the future?

Serge Lutens: For the Arab perfumes and the scented and “fleur de lys’d” filth of French luxury, do not worry, I am there! As for patterns, I flee like the plague. I love that which destabilizes. This creates a short circuit that wakens the creation and gives it its proper level. L’Eau Froide (“Cold Water”) is not a clean water, but an icy fluid. It comes from the incense and is not hespéridée (“of hesperides or citruses”). Perhaps you know, the tree with incense, the Boswellia sacra, grows in Somalia in a pre-desert area, one of hottest on the globe. It should be said that this “air-conditioner of the body” which is its resin [frankincense] really gives the answer to this need for freshness. Coldness of the sun!

Please view all questions by Fragrantica readers!

Fragrantica team thank M. Lutens for the interesting insights and kind wishes to our readers!

Questions of our readers were compiled by Elena Knezhevich (jeca)

Serge Lutens' answers were translated by Jodi Battershell (NebraskaLovesScent)

edooardo

Wonderful !
What intelligent answers!
He is so sincere!
When you try to find some arrogance, you soon realize that there is no snobbishness!
Talking about his mother, the intention of challenge us with creative fragrance names, his love for champagne...
It caused me a sensation of empathy, almost as if we were friends...
He speaks with his soul...
'By the work one knows the workman.'
'A l'oeuvre on connaît l'artisan. .'
- Jean de la Fontaine, 1668
We should be forever grateful the Universe we have someone who works to deliver nothing but the best shapes, colours, photos, names, fragrances !!!
Voilà geniality!

Dec
12
2011

Printeza7

What a interesting person, his character is clearly expressed in his perfumes. Secret- fine- oriental- sophistication. I love Serge Lutens fragrances, very sensual and hidden notes.
Please never stop creating these beautiful perfumes!

Dec
11
2011

Hedonist222

Typical SL.
Says a lot but in reality says nothing. I'd like less dance about and more transparency when answering questions.
I have 14 SL bottles. I am a fan.

Dec
11
2011

sky76sky

What a great interview - greatly enjoyed reading it - THANK YOU!

Dec
10
2011

johngreenink

Thank you, M. Lutens, for answering my question, and thank you Ms. Knezhevich and Ms. Battershell for selecting it. Your advice for a new perfumer (to simply go for it) is refreshing; inspiring, I appreciate it. Often when I ask such a question I'm met with lists of needed qualifications and a monologue about the near-impossibility of creating perfumes, as if I were afraid of hard work! Encouragement is so much more helpful.

Dec
08
2011

Jean-David

Thank you too, Mon-Petit. Well, I do agree with the general content of your comment. SL is not a sleeping partner, his name is more than a trade, his commitment is high in each and every product he launches, and without his personality and original vision, none of all these superb SL perfumes would have existed : no Féminité du Bois, La Myrrhe, Ambre Sultan, Iris Silver Mist, Serge noire, no Santal blanc, no Filles en aiguilles... And more of this : his influence is true in the world of the "author perfumery". And I didn't intend to lessen his merits, by saying the nose, the composer behind those creations were Christopher Sheldrake.

Indeed there is more than one way to direct a creator, from very general indications to a very detailed narrative. In my mouth, the expression artistic direction is not a reduction : it can be a crucial part of the creation.

Concerning Frédéric Malle, his position is absolutely clear : as an éditeur de parfum, he's very exacting, requires a lot from the perfumers he publishes, defines narratives too, steps into technical details which are very specialized (ex : the writing of the salicylates in Dans tes bras, really a four hands writing, as Roucel says...). I appreciate very much Malle's position, because despite all his implication, he leaves to the authors he publishes their signature, and it's all the purpose of his trade.

Dec
08
2011

Mon-Petit

Hello Jean David,
Thank you for this interesting response.
Indeend i have also read an interview where Lutes said he smelled around 2500 ingredients himself so i think a "juste milieu" should be distinguished between our two theories.
I'm pretty sure that Serge is not only an artistic director but you are right i was maybe a little too hardcore with my metaphore. I still consider Lutens as a true perfumer himself, it's easy to understand when you listen him talking about perfumes. There was an old advert of Nombre noire showing Lutens working on the perfume himself "le parfum crée par Serge Lutens".
And i've heard that Roucel leaved Lutens because he was bored that Lutens was too implicated in the creation, i think Roucel prefered work as a more independant nose not. For me it's really not comparable with for example Frederic Malle, Lutens isn't an "éditeur de parfum".
Being honest i don't think that without Lutens those perfume will stay at that level of quality by imagining Sheldrake alone working in this house.

Dec
08
2011

pickledprose

im glad other people enjoyed this...

Dec
08
2011

Jean-David

Hi Mon-Petit and thanks for your answer and precisions. Nervertheless, I'm not sure at all that Sheldrake is only an instrument in Lutens' hands, or a pure technician. Sheldrake's the composer here, not only the player, and a fortiori not only the instrument. I take leave to quote an extract from the interview that Maurice Roucel gave me, on Auparfum.com (please, tell me if you need this to be translated, I'll do it with pleasure, though my english is'nt good) :

"L’histoire d’Iris Silver Mist commence avec celle de Féminité du Bois. Nous ne comprenions pas très bien, avec Christopher Sheldrake, l’intention de Serge Lutens. Nous sommes allés au Maroc, ce qui nous a permis de mieux cerner le projet. Nous avons travaillé séparément, et c’est la formule de Cristopher qui a été préférée.

Mais ce premier contact avec Lutens a fait naître un autre projet : celui d’un iris. Cette fleur, très distinguée mais très austère, s’accordait bien avec la personnalité de Lutens : « Ça doit sentir le marais ! », disait-il. Il s’agit donc d’un iris sombre, plutôt que céleste. A l’époque, personne ne prévoyait le succès que rencontrent aujourd’hui les parfums de cette marque."

It appears very clearly that both Féminité du Bois and Iris Silver Mist were note Lutens' compositions, but his commissions (I want a perfume based on this wood ; I want an iris, it has to evoke marsh). Indeed, Serge Lutens is fully involved in those commissions, at decisive levels : the definition of the artistic project, from an aesthetic, thematic and sensitive point of view ; and the validation at any step. But the composers here are Sheldrake and Roucel, and the collaboration described is very similar to an artistic director and a nose's one, indeed with a strong implication of the former, which is not always the case, far from it.

Dec
08
2011

Mon-Petit

Hi Jean David,
Serge Lutens is a true perfumer himself and he's an autodidact.
He created Nombre noir in 1982 alone..he said in an interview that when he started other perfumers told him he don't have to make perfume because he's not a perfumer..now many of them are doing what he did 10 years before.
Sheldrake helps for the chemistry side of the creation and is more like an instrument of music while Lutens is the composer and the player.

Dec
07
2011

glorious1

Thanks so very much! Soooo much appreciation!

Gloria

Dec
06
2011

Juliette has a gun

Very revealing, an excellent interview. Thank you so much, Jeka and NLS! So much better than the stuff normally published in various print media (women's glossy magazines etc.) - this interview may well serve as an important source of reference for anybody who is interested in Luten's work. May I also thank you for having included my question (which wasn't easy ..., I guess!!).

Dec
06
2011

Jean-David

Hi Alchimiste. As you quoted, Christopher Sheldrake composed "quasiment tous" = almost all Lutens' perfumes, but not all of them : Maurice Roucel created Iris Silver Mist, a masterpiece. But it seems to me that all the rest is Sheldrake's work...

Dec
06
2011

tschiepchen

What an entertaining read!
His answers are a bit morrissey-esque. :)
He is quite a character. Very individual. Strong personality.
Thanks to those who asked some of the rather unpopular questions and thanks to Monsieur Lutens for answering them.

Dec
06
2011

jeca

Christopher Sheldrake is the perfumer who collaborated with Serge Lutens on creations SL fragrances, but the creator is Serge Lutens. He doesn't mix himself, but he works on every single nuance. In this case SL is not just a brand name.

Dec
06
2011

Matt Oldham

I am so with you Partario. Just get the lead out, man. Whatever weirdo pretense is behind it, all will be forgotten and forgiven if you just make it right. I want my Iris Silver Mist! It's not that I mind going to Paris, God knows; I just want to go shopping at lunch here in San Francisco and buy it and have it and wear it and get this thorn I've had in my side for the past 10 years out.

Dec
06
2011

Alchimiste

The site AU PARFUM wrote that all the Serge Lutens fragrances were made by Christopher Sheldrake, now with Chanel.
Is it true?

Here is the text:

Christopher Sheldrake:Créateur attitré de quasiment tous les parfums Serge Lutens, il a travaillé chez Quest depuis de longues années, avant de partir chez Chanel en 2005, chez qui il a été nommé directeur de recherche et developpement parfums. Il continue néanmoins à travailler pour Serge Lutens. Il a également composé Féminité du Bois avec Pierre Bourdon.

Dec
06
2011

Alchimiste

Hi,
How many fragrance Mr Lutens made them himself?
Or did someone else make the fragrance for him?
Do you know the name of the creator?

Dec
06
2011

Mr. Doody

what a fascinating guy! thank you for this interview elena & jodi! nice to see someone in his position be so free and unfettered with publicists and the like.

Dec
06
2011

Janina

Very interesting interview, great questions and very Serge Lutens answers :) Reminded me once again why I never want to own any of his creations although I admire them.

Dec
06
2011

Jean-David

I admire his creations - although he's not a perfumer himself, but an excellent artistic director for Christopher Sheldrake -, I appreciate his culture and creativity, but I don't forgive him for the citation of Hitler's name in Plaisirs de Parfums, beside the french singer Dalida's name, as a joke. It was not funny at all. His present explanations didn't explain anything, and Hitler's name is not a matter of fun. Thanks to Juliette for having asked that question.

Dec
06
2011

Labaloo

Fascinating mind he has! Thanks for sharing his replies!

Dec
06
2011

Maeva

I liked that very Freudian part about his mother wearing black being the main reason for the recurrence of the term "noir" in many of the names of his perfumes. The brand's naming policy is so complex and poetic! I wanted to ask about this subject and couldn't when I had the chance, so I was glad to see this question raised. Thank you so much for this unique opportunity to get to know him better, even if he seems to be, in his genius, eccentricity and irony, "a man of many masks" :)

Dec
06
2011

aquinnah

i enjoyed reading the interview very much.felt like he was sitting right here-calm and composed,intrigued by our questions.

Dec
06
2011

Alexandrarae

Fantastic in depth interview Elena - have learnt a lot! A most individual Monsieur who knows exactly what he likes and loves and has spent his life doing it. What an incredible pleasure that would give one!
Alexandrarae South Australia

Dec
06
2011

Partario

Very interesting read for sure. The part about the fragrances' limited availability having little to do with his wishes caused me to raise my eyebrow a bit though. Not quite sure if I buy that bit.

Dec
06
2011

srimati

ok, having read that wonderful little piece, I'm just going to march myself right down to the parfum counter and take a deep breath. I can't say that Lutens is something I'm familiar with but I'm always ready for a new adventure!

Dec
05
2011

Giannahazagunaka Buddhizt

C'est vraiment depuis la lecture plus intéressante. Tellement je veux adress, fera donc quand j'ai le temps, toutefois, I just wanted to say (pour l'instant) que j'adore votre nouvelle image, vous êtes devilishly handsome .. .Monsieur Lutens ;)

Dec
05
2011

Iris Aistork

I adore You, monsieur Lutens!

Thank you, Fragrantica, for revealing to us a bit of Maestro's big soul and some of his perfume secrets!

Dec
05
2011

naheed

I simply loved reading his replies. Interviews are usually one to one but this one I would say is a different initiative taken by Fragrantica and involved fans to ask M.Lutens questions. Great read!

Dec
05
2011

NebraskaLovesScent

This was definitely one of the most interesting and challenging pieces I have worked on. I hope I did justice to Mr. Lutens' poetic and cryptic responses.

:-)

Dec
05
2011

ms.djedi

simply divine!

Dec
05
2011

jeca

Thank you, guys, for questions! I knew you would response to this our little adventure. Jodi translated M Lutens' answers beautifully. It's SO interesting to read his answers! I still haven't smelled De Profundis, who has please say something!

Dec
05
2011

Gojira

Great work guys! Thank you Mr. Lutens!

Dec
05
2011

ChouliGaloria

Yes, so coy and interestingly enigmatic. He's somewhere out there now playing cards with Nosferatu while snacking on red and black petit fours. I'm jealous.

Dec
05
2011

TDS

Just an hour ago I bought Chergui for my best friend as a Christmas gift. It is apparently named and formulated for the wind storm in Morocco. I have on a sample and cannot get enough of it! What a thrill to get to know a bit more about the creator of this gorgeous, mysterious fragrance. The extremely knowledgeable SA at Barney's NY spoke admiringly of the man who remains an enigma.

Dec
05
2011

cryptic