MC: Are you able to smell the differences in the flowers’ scent from one year to the next?

OP: Of course! It’s part of my job. I do try to create new scents. But as the Perfumer-Creator, I am also in charge of all the House fragrances. I, along with my team, oversee quality assurance for the harvests. I am responsible for the integrity of our raw materials, too. To that end, I travel and receive bottles all throughout the year to select our raw materials. Soon I’ll be receiving orange blossom… In a few months, in the fall, jasmine…

MC: And what if they don’t suit you? What happens in that case?

OP: I ask to smell other batches, and through blends, I can ensure the consistency of our fragrances. That is the beauty of Chanel. We do everything from A to Z, therefore we have complete control over what we produce. Nothing is left to chance. Look, turn around. Do you see that building there, behind the fields? That is the distillation facility. It’s only a few metres away! Having the facility located there, right next to the fields, helps us ensure that the flowers stay very fresh. The sacks of flowers must only travel a few metres before they are distilled.

MC:  Why is it that the flowers here have such a particular scent?

OP: That is due to several reasons. This area is special because it is in the Siagne Valley, which is protected by the foothills of the French Alps and the Massif de l’Esterel mountain range. In the summer, the sea breeze provides air to the crops. This marriage of terroir and climate is what gives the May roses their unique scents.

MC:  The same flowers, grown elsewhere, would smell differently?

OP: Yes! Here, our roses have a voluptuously honeyed but also exude fruity scent.

MC:  You’re right… I am picking up a fruit smell, but I couldn’t tell you which one…

OP: Pear?

MC: Yes, that’s exactly it!

OP: You’ll also recognise a somewhat spicy, lightly peppery aroma, some with the very delicate spiciness of the carnation.

MC:  I find this talent of yours fascinating, the fact that you can identify the scents. It’s extraordinary! You talk about pear, spices… You put invisible, imperceptible sensations into words… It becomes obvious as soon as you say it. I would even go so far as to say that afterward, we smell the scents differently, with new emotion.

OP: It’s true that in everyday life we don’t usually put scents into words. We aren’t trained to do so —unless it’s our job. That could be why I believe smell is our most instinctual sense. A sense that has remained almost animalistic, in a way.

MC:  I’m always happy when I feel, like today, that I’m educating myself about new things, and seeing the world a little bit differently—more precisely, perhaps. For instance, I thought that the same distillation processes were used for all flowers. Here, I’m discovering that since flowers have different characteristics, the distillation process can be different, too.

OP: Here, we never stop thinking about the flower’s properties. It is both fascinating and never-ending research. As a child, I remember seeing my father doing tests with the Mul family, trying to find the ideal growing methods, and then distilling methods. We do the same thing still today, still with the Muls! Based on the idea that we absolutely must make all the steps of perfume production ethical.

MC:  That is very important, this idea of ethical production. When the House of Chanel came to me about this collaboration for N°5, I expressed a desire to consider the environmental dimension. The luxury industry, which has the power to finance innovation, owes it to itself to think about how to create a more responsible world.

OP: What’s interesting is that at Chanel, we participate in all the steps involved in producing a fragrance. And so, we can think about how we can do things a little bit better each day. I took over for my father, who was the Chanel “nose” before myself. So, I can see the extent to which the environmental aspect has become a major part of my work, from one generation to the next.

MC: Yes, the ancestral know-how that is passed down is becoming more and more environmentally conscious.

OP: And that is essential to passing on N°5. Today, we talk to farmers and think about their heritage, looking for their cultural particularities. We never stop furthering our relationship to the techniques and know-how of the farmers with whom we work, whether it’s here in Grasse or on the other side of the world.

MC: How do you plan your research with that in mind?

OP: Every season, we try to innovate. Let me introduce you to Fabrice Bianchi, director of the Mul farm. He is Joseph’s son-in-law. The Mul family has been cultivating fragrant flowers here for five generations! Fabrice, can you tell us about your “musical research” project?

Fabrice Bianchi: We launched a three-year project to study the influence of musical sounds, which could be able to protect the roses.

MC: I’ve read about this idea that music can be therapeutic.

FB:  Our roses are susceptible to fungi that can attack and weaken them. So, we wanted to find an ethical way to protect them.

OP: And researchers told us about this music technique…

FB: We play instrumental notes, at certain frequencies at certain times of day. If the researchers are right, the melodies could have an effect on fungal proteins, preventing them from multiplying.

OP: We are running tests on these plots of land, here.

FB:  And in three years, we will compare them with the other plots that weren’t exposed to music. We will assess whether the frequency has any effect or not.

MC: That is fascinating. If I understand correctly, the Mul family has been working here for generations.

OP: That is correct! In 1987, the Chanel House signed an unprecedented partnership agreement with this family of farmers. It was my father’s idea to work with them, at a time when the idea of the terroir and supporting responsible agriculture wasn’t trendy. Now we know it was visionary. This partnership has allowed us to secure the quantity of high-quality flowers needed to create the House’s fragrances. But it has also helped sustain the production of fragrant plants in the Grasse basin.

MC: So, Joseph, whom I met earlier, is one of the descendants of the Mul family?

OP: He is, and he takes his work just as seriously and finds as much pleasure in it as his ancestors did.

MC: For me, it is important to see how a fragrance I’m representing is made. It fascinates me to hear about the experiences of the people who work here, to learn more about their careers.

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