Perfumer & Artistic Director François Demachy {Scented Quote of the Day} {Directory of Perfumers, Artistic Directors, & Fragrance Designers}
François Demachy was born in 1949 in Grasse. He is both a perfumer and a "super artistic director" for olfactory development at LVMH ( Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) since 2006, which oversees brands like Guerlain, Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy, Acqua di Parma, Loewe, Pucci, Fendi. Before that he worked for 29 years at Chanel where he created most of the Chanel fragrance successes with Jacques Polge, although he is less well known to the public than his colleague This perception or lack thereof has started to change since his appointment at LVMH.
Studied at: Ecole de Parfumerie de la Société Charabot
Mentor: perfumer Henri Robert, author of Chanel no 19......
Creations include: Ungaro Diva (1983) (with Jacques Polge),Tiffany Tiffany (1987), Chanel Egoïste (1990) (with Jacques Polge), Bourjois Soir de Paris (1991 refomulated version) (with Jacques Polge), Dior Homme Cologne (2007), Dior Fahrenheit 32 (2007) (with Louise Turner), Dior Eau Sauvage Fraîcheur Cuir (2007), Dior J'Adore Eau de Toilette (2007), Fendi Palazzo (2007), Midnight Poison (2007) (with Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier of Firmenich), Pucci Vivara (2007) (see review of the vintage Vivara), Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa (2007) (with Alberto Morillas) and many more.
Interesting quote: "I am here [at LVMH] to contribute my 35 years of professional experience and to ensure that our brands be identified with the nec plus ultra of perfumery. There was a lot of work done on the image, it is time for the olfactory side to match it, in particular thanks to raw materials of very high quality! The idea at Dior for instance is to elevate the perfume house to the level of luxury that it reached in couture. Currently certain juices on the market do not amount to more than 5 % of the factory price. Nothing of the sort with us! If one of our female customers is to buy a 70 Euros perfume, she should get a fair value out of it. But Dior is only the visible part of the iceberg. I also attend all the creative meetings at Givenchy, Guerlain, or Kenzo with their suppliers, perfumers, marketing teams, and I watch very closely the upcoming launches at Fendi, Acqua di Parma, and Pucci, three of our Italian brands. The results of our efforts will show in some time." (L'Express, interview with Maïté Turonnet)
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He is also the author of most Bourjois fragrances that were on the market in the 80's and 90's. Some people say that at Chanel J Polge was the star perfumer whose image was to appear every where while Demachy was the working guy behind many fragrances. :))
He worked also for the great Coco.
I wanted to say the same thing about Bourjois as Octavian already did.
I have a found memory of Stephanie. Yes, it was (Roll your eyes now!) Princess Stéphanie of Monaco's entry during the first round of celebrity scents of the '80s/early '90s. The Princess must have particulary liked Mr Demachy's work on Egoïste as her perfume was almost indentical but with a more feminine powdery, amber-like drydown. I still own the edp which lasts forever. For something sold in French supermarkets it was very well done.
I wonder why there has to be a perfumer in the limelight and another one working in the shadows? A question of taste for the media? A construction of the image of the perfumer?
I was especially puzzled by Demachy's comment about Diva being inspired be a woman he loved because that makes it sound like a truly personal creation, while I had been used to seeing Polge's name next to it....
Thank you Cedric for the comparison. It's interesting. Oh yes, there are supermarket perfumes that are perfectly honorable.
Having the perfumer in the light is only a recent phenomena. It can be the decision of the brand or of the fragrance house to cast the light on one or another. It's not good at all in my opinion when a perfumer didn't work at all on a perfume but he is quoted as the creator just because the company decided that he will be "the face". Some brand creators (artistic directors, etc)from the early 80's imposed their image as a perfumer when they are not. The authorship is only a recent subject and I'am not sure if the consumer really cares if a fragrance was conceived by Polge, Goutal or JP Guerlain himself. :))
I have the Miss Dior Cherie and just noticed that it doesn't stay with me long. I see that you have a new one Miss Dior Cheri d'Eau and was wondering if you had a sample or a smaller bottle that I could purchase and try that. I love your perfumes but I can't afford the other one for $80 also. Just a question. Please respond.
We don't sell perfumes, at all.