Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud: A Perfumer with a Legacy
Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud is a French perfumer who is the exclusive head of fragrance creation at Louis Vuitton, one of the most prestigious and iconic fashion houses in the world. He is the son of Jacques Cavallier, who was also a perfumer, and the grandson of Joseph Polge, who was a perfumer as well. Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud inherited his family's passion and talent for creating scents, but also developed his own style and vision.
Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud was born in Grasse, the capital of perfume, in 1962. He grew up surrounded by the aromas of flowers and essences, and learned the art of perfumery from his father. He studied English and Spanish at the University of Nice, and then joined the perfumery company Charabot. After three years, he moved to the fine fragrance lab at Quest International in the Netherlands. In 1988, he joined the firm of PFW Aroma Chemicals, and then moved to the fragrance and flavor conglomerate Firmenich in 1990.
At Firmenich, he created or collaborated in the creation of over 80 fragrances and perfumes for various brands, such as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Issey Miyake, Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Some of his most famous creations include Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey, a fresh and aquatic scent that revolutionized the perfume industry; Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, a sensual and masculine scent that became a bestseller; and Yves Saint Laurent M7, a bold and woody scent that was one of the first to use oud, a precious and exotic ingredient.
In 2012, Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud was appointed as the exclusive perfumer of Louis Vuitton, following the footsteps of Ernest Beaux, Henri Robert, and Jacques Polge, who were the perfumers of Chanel. He took over the responsibility of creating new fragrances for the house, as well as maintaining and updating the existing ones. He also had access to the exclusive and rare ingredients that Louis Vuitton cultivates in its own fields, such as jasmine, rose, iris, and tuberose.
One of his first creations for Louis Vuitton was Rose des Vents, a delicate and luminous scent that evokes the journey of the founder of the house, who traveled from his hometown of Anchay to Paris. Rose des Vents is composed of three types of roses, from Grasse, Bulgaria, and Turkey, blended with iris and cedar. It was part of the Les Parfums Louis Vuitton collection, a line of niche and high-end fragrances that showcase the history and heritage of the house.
Another notable creation by Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud was Ombre Nomade, a unisex fragrance that was inspired by the Middle East, a region that fascinated the house for its culture and craftsmanship. Ombre Nomade is a dark and intense scent that features oud, incense, rose, and amber. It was part of the Les Parfums Louis Vuitton collection, and was launched in 2018.
Perhaps the most challenging and important task that Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud faced was to create a new version of Heures d'Absence, the first fragrance that Louis Vuitton created in 1927, and that was named after the country house of the Vuitton family. Heures d'Absence is a powdery and floral scent that evokes the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties, with notes of jasmine, rose, mimosa, raspberry, and vanilla. It was launched in 2020, as a tribute to the legacy and the innovation of the house.
Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud is a perfumer who combines tradition and innovation, art and science, and emotion and logic. He is a worthy creator for Louis Vuitton, a house that values quality, creativity, and excellence. He is a master of scents, who continues to surprise and delight the world with his olfactory creations.