At this point in time when this story is written, it has been reported that the global fragrance market has reached a staggering US$ 33.5 billion in 2021. What then makes Maison Crivelli, a French fragrance House launched in 2018, so special? Firstly, it believes in making its ingredients special in a way that’s rarely done. Think a classic rose fragrance that smells salty or a patchouli that reversely, smells sweet — that is the element of surprise that its founder Thibaud Crivelli often talks about in this interview.
Secondly, the fragrance names are one part factual and one part esoteric. The first word in its names are a reference to its ingredient and the second, the moment inspiration lightning struck Crivelli himself to create them.
Read on, think about the magic of how they can elevate your scent wardrobe, and next, cart them out from escentials today.
Hello Thibaud, I’d like to start by asking, how does Maison Crivelli make haute couture contemporary? It sounds like an oxymoron to me but never the less, interesting.
When I created the brand, the first objective I had was to surprise people with perfumes they have never smelt before. It’s such a saturated market and it was very important that whatever we do be legitimate and new.
Next, I wanted it to be authentic and grounded — inspired by real-life moments because I believe in the power of authenticity that makes creations meaningful. Things can be artistic but authenticity brings a stronger perspective to the things we do.
I also wanted it to be international. Different people from different cultures might have certain expectations of what a perfume can be but things move so quickly. I wanted Maison Crivelli’s messaging to be understood by many and to reflect who I am — a French born in France but having lived overseas for three generations.
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This move to look, sound and feel international works because if one looks at Maison Crivelli’s Instagram page, the visuals are understandable without sacrificing an artistic license.
You can’t think about locations or target a specific kind of client. Or, even segmenting your clientele base. I instead choose imagery from places or moments where I’ve been surprised whilst discovering a perfume ingredient. These are understandable because they have sensorial elements and today, most of our clients live in urban cities and seek breaths of fresh air.
We want to spend more time on ourselves, buy less but better, and connect emotionally with nature. At Maison Crivelli, it’s also about going on an adventure off the beaten track.
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What I thought was so interesting too is that, unlike your contemporaries, you don’t come from a lineage of noses. Would you say this lack of — for a better word — pedigree give you the utmost freedom when it comes to creating?
I grew up in La Roche Posay, a cosmetic city where I was actually drinking the water too. I could have gone into cosmetics but I always felt that perfumery was more poetic and emotional. It touches people’s lives and I noticed it after launching the brand.
After speaking to clients in stores, I noticed them smelling the perfumes and smiling or even laughing at times. Some even cried after experiencing positive emotions. I don’t create for myself, I create for others and of course, there are things you love or hate.
Perfumes are complicated because it’s like building a house with different doors within it. You enter from the entrance one and you can choose which other doors you seek to use.
With your intrepid childhood and adventures from plantations to cities, how do you find the capacity to be open to everything? Have you developed some kind of “instinctive muscle” that allows you to decide what’s good for the brand and what is not?
I always try to explore and discover things and not judge. I’ve also learnt to be patient and despite being French, I feel at ease wherever I go as long as I have the right mindset.
For example, I love Chinese culture and have spent so much time in the countryside where it isn’t as hygienic as the city. It might be far — six or seven-hour drives just to reach a remote village — but you get pure nature and an opportunity to experience its real soul. I was discovering so many things and learnt so much.
Something that might be applicable for all of us, to answer your second question, would be that we remember what surprises us in great detail. If you think of your best childhood memory, I’m pretty sure it’s when you were surprised by something and you’d remember the colours, setting or even a dish.
Or, think about your favourite sunset. I’m sure you can remember the people you were with, the timing, and even the location. The surprise, however, could be positive or negative; it doesn’t matter.
Would you say then, that a perfume can be made out of a negative experience?
Well, it could be depending on what the word negative means in that experience. For example, we have a perfume called Patchouli Magnetik that was inspired by a motorbike ride through a patchouli field when a tropical storm hit. It rained the entire night and the sky went white — if you can imagine, it took two days for the water levels to lower.
It could have been a negative experience but I spun it into something positive.
Interestingly, the brand’s site mentions the concept of slow perfumes because the greatest ones have always taken their time. Beyond adhering to the brand’s codes of producing high-quality collections, could it also be because Maison Crivelli is a small brand as compared to the other Houses?
I’m a very active person but sometimes I need to slow myself down just to be able to take in more of what’s around me. For example, I went to France in the Spring for a hike where I spent 10 minutes to myself just exploring the forest.
If I hadn’t done it, I would have felt disconnected from the experience. Sometimes, I feel like I’m very grounded even though I’m constantly stimulated.
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If you think about it, we Asians have a stronger “appetite” for fragrances. We love experimenting with them no matter the brand or sometimes, even the accords used in them.
I always say that perfumes were never a part of Asian culture and thus, people have a high curiousity to learn more about them. It’s the opposite in Europe where people think they know all about it but eventually, they might not know so much yet. In Asia, people also realise the benefits of it.
At Maison Crivelli, we don’t create perfumes from market trends or make them feel certain things. It’s about finding one that’s your signature that differentiates you. Fashion trends are global now but for perfumes, you can talk about yourself in greater detail.
Maybe you can say it’s a way to speak about yourself without having to open your mouth or even be visual about it.
Yes, it’s a very emotional way to do so. You unveil a bit of yourself; are you confident or not or are you happy or sad?
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How does the life of a Maison Crivelli fragrance begin? I know some noses start with a visual mood board while some want to evoke emotions.
The starting moment is when I discovered an ingredient surprisingly and next, I send a mood board to a perfumer which includes pictures, sounds, descriptions of people I met, or even the dishes I ate. Their objective is to bring it to life within a perfume.
I give a very clear direction — intensity, projection, freshness or warmth etc — but the perfumers have the creative freedom to propose several options to me. It’s not 100% that way because after all, I’m still the Creative Director behind the brand but I know what I want.
Respect means being honest with them and it’s important for me to connect with them. I only work with those that I have a great and spontaneous reaction with. I welcome all ideas be it from a technical approach because they formulate and I don’t.
They love the briefs because it’s always rich and full of elements they can work with (though sometimes, they might look at me with confused faces) that feel real.
How then, do you pick the specific noses for each specific fragrance? It’s interesting because you won’t expect Quentin Bisch of Caroline Herrera Bad Boy fame to produce something like Ambre Chromatique or someone like Marc Zini to create Iris Malikhân as he has never produced “in-trend” fragrances.
Quentin is famous in the niche category of perfumery. In the beginning, I contacted different perfume Houses who would recommend me noses based on my brief. Quentin is a perfumer you should follow. He’s the best nose of the current generation because he has created best-sellers out of the niche category itself.
He’s very talented and all the brands want to work with him – it’s an honour for me to do so because he’s so highly requested. It boils down to trust and the connection you have with people — the latter should not involve any egos but instead, involve a signature from both creatives that still had quality. Quentin is famous too for fragrances with a high impact and long-lasting projection.
Wouldn’t you say then that Maison Crivelli performs like a fashion House and how each perfumer that comes in works like a designer who respects its codes but produces something new?
Yes! Our codes would be to surprise, a notion of experience, and modernity in the sense that you’ll think our perfumes are completely new and different from the classics when you discover them. It’s nothing you’ll expect — the names of the perfumes involve the ingredient being the first word used and the experience behind it, the second.
For example, Rose Saltifolia was inspired by a field of roses by the seaside. If you think of roses fragrance, you’d think of the classic ones that might smell a little grandma. When you smell ours, the perspective is different. My twin sister never wore rose fragrances but she now wears Rose Saltifolia because it surprised her by being something new as it had a salty accord.
The perfumer had a seaweed absolute in her ingredient list but it took us a few months to develop because we needed the right amount to balance the rose accord.
Which then was the quickest fragrance to produce and which took more time?
Each is on its timeline but it’s easier when you have a strong connection with the perfumer and also if your brief is really clear.
Lastly, what is next for the brand? How are you planning to expand the universe of Maison Crivelli?
We will launch more extraits and an oud perfume. While it’s still a work in progress, we’ll be launching a home category comprising candles and diffusers.
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