Introduction: Cartier Parfums’ choice of duty free as the global launchpad for L’Envol de Cartier – the house’s first masculine fragrance launch in eight years – in September was both fitting and symbolic.
Travel retail has, after all, become an increasingly key channel for the French luxury house in general, and for its fragrance division (created two years ago) in particular. And what more appropriate location for the launch of a line that in French means ‘The Flight’ or ‘Take off’ than the world’s busiest international airport and the leading travel retail door – Dubai Duty Free at Dubai International.
The links with flight didn’t end there. L’Envol de Cartier – created by Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent – was inspired by the feats of legendary aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, known in his native Brazil as ‘the father of aviation’. In 1904 Louis Cartier created one of the first wristwatches so that his friend could tell the time easily while flying.
Underlining the importance of both the L’Envol de Cartier launch and the travel retail channel, Cartier Parfums’ dynamic General Manager Léa Vignal-Kenedi attended the Tax Free World Exhibition in October where she spoke to Martin Moodie in a fascinating interview.
Great fragrance, says Cartier Parfums General Manager Léa Vignal-Kenedi, should provoke “an emotional jolt”.
If she has her way, Ms Vignal-Kenedi will be providing consumers the world over with many such jolts. Such are her aspirations for, and belief in, L’Envol de Cartier – the house’s first masculine fragrance launch in eight years.
“With L’Envol de Cartier we had a strong desire to bring more elegance to the masculine field,” she says, talking to The Moodie Davitt Report onboard the Cartier yacht at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. “We felt that there are a lot of me-too products, and that the masculine field in fragrance is lacking in surprise and elegance. That’s the purpose of L’Envol, so we had both the story and the desire.
“Mathilde [Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent] wanted to give men a potion of life – a perfume that can give you the strength to surpass yourself, so it’s all about the idea of mental elevation,” she says. “It’s very mental, it’s not physical. So she and we were looking at active substances and at the end ambrosia [also known as hydromel or mead, a drink made of water and honey –Ed] was chosen. It is the drink of the gods of Olympus, which makes it very interesting.
“So that’s the ingredient and the idea that really gives the personality to the fragrance. And then there is the bottle – the first to be created with a double glass envelope. It took us two years to do that. Nobody has done anything like it before.”
So fantastic in fact that the initial launch programme had to be rescheduled because the technology and related industrial processes were so complex. But the wait, she insists, was worth every minute, as the end result is “something very like a jewel” and “every bit as spectacular as La Panthère [Cartier’s successful 2014 women’s launch]”.
The bottle is indeed spectacular. As I write this interview, several weeks after my meeting with Ms Vignal-Kenedi, the bottle stands in pride of place on my desk. It’s weighty, elegant and a Sherlock Holmes case study in intrigue in the way a glass bulb sits suspended within its cloche outer frame (technically, Cartier describes it as an ampoule protected within a removable glass dome).
It could indeed be a bottle of ambrosia for tasting rather than dabbing. It’s handsome, rather than pretty, as no doubt its creators intended, in order to appeal to its unashamed target audience of 30- to 40-year-old “elite, demanding, connoisseur and aesthete” males.
This is no bottle to throw away after use. The company describes it as “a true Cartier object”, featuring the house’s signature Guillochage pattern – inherited from the watchmaking business – on a cap that itself plays to a male psyche (“turn the wheel, spray the perfume and take off”).
“With L’Envol, as with all our perfumes, the cap is part of the design, so you never take it off,” says Ms Vignal-Kenedi. “It’s a single piece – on/off,” she says as she demonstrates the bottle for me. “And it is complete with details that are very Cartier, including the fact that it’s refillable, like an ampoule.
“It’s a design piece, actually. To achieve the innovation of two glass envelopes, the external one and the one inside, we needed to find people who are true glassmakers but who are also specialists in table art, because to have this finesse is a specific savoir faire.”
Not many glassmakers could meet those qualifications, she notes, and only one – an Italian firm Bormioli – accepted the challenge.
The creative fusion of tradition and modernity is also reflected in what the company calls a ‘DEI’ strategy for launch – D for digitally driven, E for expert support in-store, and I for iconic experiences at point-of-sale.
Cartier has strong aspirations for L’Envol, which it sees as becoming its premier masculine line – and key to achieving the house’s ambition to be “the most distinctive Maison de Parfums”.
[In the short films on this page Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent talks about the creation of L’Envol de Cartier]
Ms Laurent calls the fragrance “audacious”, a nice expression of its intoxicating mix of musk, woody and honey tones. And if the bottle and its contents are distinctive, then so is the launch strategy. Most male fragrances are launched first in EDT form before the more intense EDP expression is added. Cartier has turned that formula on its head. It’s even added a perfumed grooming oil, as well as a bath line – the latter featuring the same level of concentrate.
L’Envol has started very well, says Ms Vignal-Kenedi [since launch, for example, it’s tracking way ahead of Dubai Duty Free’s overall fragrance growth]. “So far the welcome is incredible.”
DEDICATED FOCUS ON FRAGRANCE
The launch underlines Cartier’s strong commitment to fragrance, which was expressed when it created a dedicated in-house division for the category – a break with the Richemont-owned company’s traditional formula.
According to Ms Vignal-Kenedi the creation of a dedicated business unit was a statement of “huge ambition”. “In terms of organisational model, inside the Maison it is the only category that is driven this way,” she says.
Ms Vignal-Kenedi’s team is based at the magnificent Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris (known simply as Fondation Cartier), a contemporary art museum in the capital’s 14th arrondissement. “I think it’s a very important symbol for us,” she says. Besides its outstanding assembly of contemporary art, it is home to the creative genesis for all Cartier products, she points out, “so it’s very inspirational to us”.
From there Cartier Parfums manages all aspects of the global business, from product development, through to commercial strategy and distribution. Additionally, every Cartier subsidiary worldwide houses a dedicated team focused specifically on the perfume business.
“Our creative process is, I think, unique because the perfumer is involved in every single aspect – from bottles to creation to communication”
How much independence does Cartier Parfums have within the group? And how much synergy is there with the creative and commercial heart of Cartier?
Plenty in both cases, Ms Vignal-Kenedi replies. “The strategy, the creation, in fact everything, is decided together with our President and our Communication Marketing Director for other categories. Every week we make sure we are all moving in the same direction, and that we express the spirit and the vision of Cartier in our field.
“Of course, we do it in a different manner; and this is where perfume is so interesting, because it’s all about strong emotions. You know, the olfactory sense is the only one that goes directly to the emotional brain. It never goes to the cortex [the brain’s outer layer] and that is why it affects the memory so strongly.
“No other sense has this power, and I’m sure this is why so many luxury brands are now doing perfume – because the lasting impression it creates is unique.”
It’s a fascinating subject. There is in fact, she points out, a fast-growing body of research that confirms the benefits that olfactory associations and memories bring to patients who have been mentally ill. [Bearing out her viewpoint, the American Psychological Association notes: “The more closely researchers look, the more evidence they find that aromas hold sway over our emotions, our cognition, and even our health.”]
“There have been some amazing results,” she continues. “This is something that is both key and unique, so the role of the perfume at Cartier is really to bring these ‘emotional jolts’ to people. Yes, we want our perfume to be worn by as many clients as possible, but first we want to leave a timeless emotion.
“So the way we work is very specific. Our creative process is, I think, unique because the perfumer is involved in every single aspect – from bottles to creation to communication – together with the creative studio at Cartier, our designers, the marketing team, myself and sometimes some external experts. But it’s never a brief coming from the marketing team, saying ‘This year we need this fragrance.’ Never!”
The initial thrust always comes from the creative team, she says: no more so than with L’Envol de Cartier or with Les Heures de Parfum, the stunning unisex line rolled out in 2014 (the name refers to 13 fragrances numbered around the clock from 1 but finishing, quirkily, on 13).
As we talk, Ms Vignal-Kenedi shows me a limited-edition fragrance featuring a stunning hologram effect. “It’s metamorphosis, so it’s magic, but it’s also technology,” she says with a smile. “You keep the luxury feeling, but you are in the 21st century.”
“It was the same for Les Heures, where together with Mathilde we developed something that was very important for us. Everybody’s talking about experience, but what does that mean in the perfume world?
“For us, it is definitely about immersing our clients in the idea behind the scent. So for each of Les Heures we developed with Mathilde what she has in her head – it’s really a deep dive into each olfactory creation around sounds, images and words.”
To illustrate her point, Ms Vignal-Kenedi invites me to view a line-up of boxes, one of several in front of a dedicated interactive and multisensorial installation of Les Heures perfumes, featuring smell, touch, words and sound. “Take a box, please open it…”
As I open it, a deep pounding beat starts to play. “So you smell, you watch and you listen. You are in Mathilde’s head.”
“The perfume you’re smelling is really a very dark cacao,” Ms Vignal-Kenedi continues, explaining the intensity of the musical choice. “It [the perfume] has fantastic notes – very mysterious, very addictive. When you close the box, voilà, the capsule stops.”
“Can I try one more?” I ask, fascinated.
“Of course.”
I choose a creation called L’Heure Folle. This time the music is altogether different, boppy, exuberant, fun. “This was inspired by Cartier’s [1920] Tutti Frutti jewellery collection, so it’s very lively,” says Ms Vignal-Kenedi.
Into her stride now, she opens a box called L’Heure Vertueuse. The immediate aroma of rosemary is unmistakable. “This one is what we call in French ‘Les jardins des simples’. There are gardens behind a church where you have all these plants that have medicinal qualities that can help you to feel better. There’s all this fantastic lavender and rosemary which you are plunged into.” The music, again, is just right, soft, peaceful, chiming.
Hooked, I open another. It’s called XII L’Heure Mystérieuse (right), one of the range’s best-sellers. The music is dense, foreboding; the scent redolent of incense and nutmeg. 12 o’clock, midnight, the bewitching hour. Just like the fragrance.
“Mathilde is talking directly to the clients. She’s a poet, an artist. She’s not just a perfumer. That’s really our point of difference.”
The next choice is L’Heure Convoitée. “This one is very feminine. It’s all about seduction at Cartier – look at the red!” says Ms Vignal-Kenedi. The music is Tarantino-like, dramatic, precipitous. I half expect Uma Thurman to walk in, all in black, bright red lipstick, Pulp Fiction-esque.
And there are words to accompany each medley of smell and sound. Great words. In this case ‘Carnal for the eyes’ and ‘Tickling to the touch’.
“Your copywriter is very talented,” I observe.
“But these are the words of the perfumer herself,” Ms Vignal-Kenedi retorts. “She is talking directly to the clients. She’s a poet, an artist. She’s not just a perfumer. That’s really our point of difference.
“Try this one, L`Heure Promise,” she gestures. “Mathilde calls it The Hour of Angels.” The music is serene, deeply calming – almost meditational – with the added effect of wind whistling through the hills; the fragrance is fresh and clean with notes of Iris and fresh herbs.
“We have felt a strong evolution over the past years in the way that travel retail is looking to treat the clients, and how it is developing the service, the experience and the image.”
Collectively the installation is something magical, a breathtaking amalgam of words, scents and sound. This would surely be a show-stopper in the right travel retail environment, I suggest.
“For the time being it’s only in the Cartier boutique in New York, but [in due course] we’ll offer it to our best partners,” she comments. Possibly including travel retail, provided the space and ambiance are right.
“For sure it would bring something very different and very emotional,” says Ms Vignal-Kenedi. To illustrate the point, she opens one final choice – La Treizième Heure, for which Ms Laurent won two Fragrance Foundation France creative awards. The scent may be named after a non-existent hour, but the lovely sweet narcissus character tinged with smoke is delightfully real.
A fascinating, all-too-brief interview comes to an end as Ms Vignal-Kenedi is called away to welcome guests at a soirée cocktail to celebrate the launch of L’Envol de Cartier. Before we part I ask her to sum up the role that travel retail plays for the house.
“It fits very well, because we have felt a strong evolution over the past years in the way that travel retail is looking to treat the clients, and how it is developing the service, the experience and the image. In today’s world of perfumery, you don’t have so many places – besides department stores – where you can share your vision and really treat your clients this way.
“For us it’s a fantastic opportunity, because the trend it took is the way we intend to develop our perfumery – there’s a clear connection between our vision and strategy and the development of this network. For us it’s about pleasure. We are not selling perfume like any other product. It is a true jewel, it adds value and it’s something that needs more time and environment to be discovered.”
