The creator of the world’s favorite fragrances – Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana, Black Opium by Yves Saint-Lauren, L’Eau par Kenzo by Kenzo and dozens of others – Olivier Cresp has become a legendary perfumer over the years, and for his composition, he was awarded the official title of Master Perfumer by the brand Angel Thierry Mugler. Olivier Cresp worked with many brands, literally turning his olfactory portfolio into gold, and in 2018, together with his daughter Anais, he founded his own perfume brand – Akro. The perfumer personally came to Vladivostok to talk about the brand, already created fragrances and trends that, according to him, are in the air. Olivier Cresp spoke about the family business, new technologies and plans to create a fragrance inspired by Russia.
Olivier, why did you choose Vladivostok for your visit, a real “end of the world” for most people?
Olivier Cresp: I came here to promote my own brand Akro. Personally, I find it important to be here, because Vladivostok is a big city with almost 1 million inhabitants, which is a huge audience for the perfume market. We wanted to personally tell the residents of Primorye about our fragrances, many of which match well with local preferences. We understand how important it is to make a name for yourself in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but close to Vladivostok there are China, Korea, Japan and the tastes of the residents are different – the proximity of Asia makes itself felt.
For example, I created the Infuse fragrance over three years in my laboratory in Shanghai, the main chord that can be distinguished in it is oolong tea, a component that perfumers have not worked with before me. The idea came to me during the Chinese tea party, and this is the scent that is associated with Asia. Here, on the border with China, the smell of tea is reminiscent of something close, and notes of bergamot, magnolia and osmanthus complete the composition. The very name of the perfume, Infuse, reflects the method of preparation and serving of tea, which is certainly brewed at a temperature of 80 degrees. A beautiful process that makes you enjoy life, a small but very pleasant addiction. Our brand is dedicated to such addictions.
These addictions are not always harmful, for example, someone drinks coffee or Coca-Cola every day and enjoys it, someone can’t live without traveling, someone needs to smoke a cigarette or drink whiskey. And people definitely want to be happy. I created Smile – a fragrance addicted to happiness. It conveys the mood when we want to smile. I achieved this effect by using a little lemon, musk and natural fresh raspberry extract that you can literally drink. I am sure that modern technology makes this composition a success – we obtain raspberry extract by passing microwaves through it. I can say that I use the best methods of obtaining components. And working with your own brand gives you the opportunity not to limit yourself when choosing raw materials.
As far as I know, Smile was dedicated to your daughter Anais. Why did you decide to give your exclusive fragrance to everyone?
Olivier Cresp: When Anaïs was 15-16, she asked me to make her a fragrance. It turned out very clean, musky, with fruity notes of bergamot and fresh raspberry, just what a girl needs. People around her liked the smell, people would stop her in the street, not only because she was beautiful, but also to find out what made her smell so good.
Twenty years have passed, and she suggested remembering this fragrance, giving it a second life, using only new, more modern components that were not available during her childhood. I took the same formula, replaced the musk with a better one, added extracted raspberries and wonderful citrus fruits – lemon, bergamot. The artificial nuances that a teenager liked, but would not suit a modern woman, were removed from the composition. It became beautiful, easy, modern and simple.
A good perfume, in my opinion, should be understandable, without accumulating dozens of components. When a person comes to the store and does a test spray, he should immediately feel that he smells, for example, citrus, flowers, musk. That’s enough. And if you mix dozens of components, the customer will have no association and will simply be confused.
Speaking of materials, do you use natural raw materials, for example oil obtained from real flowers, or are all components created artificially in laboratories?
Olivier Cresp: In our company we work with about 1.2 thousand natural ingredients and 2 thousand synthetic molecules. But you can work with natural raw materials in different ways and achieve different perceptions. Working on my own, I am not limited. I do not look at the cost of the components; for me it is important to grasp and execute the idea. And when implementing a plan, in fact, it is not so important whether we use a synthetic or natural component; the main thing is that it gives the desired effect, benefits the sense of smell and pleases the person who will have the bottle with the perfume composition.
It seems that your entire family is connected to perfume production: your father was engaged in the sale of aromatic raw materials, your sister is the famous perfumer Françoise Caron, your daughter Anais is the co-founder and inspiration of the Akro brand. Did family ties form the basis of the brand concept?
Olivier Cresp: Akro is a company in which my daughter, I and our partner Thibault hold key positions. Anais is in charge of marketing and positioning. I am involved in the creation and production of perfumes. Thibault is responsible for distribution, customer service, etc. In total, at the time of the brand’s launch, our startup had about 15 employees. However, even this small business was not family-run; for example, my son Sebastian, a wonderful perfumer, works in Italy and has his own company there, which is quite successful. He creates beautiful and very different scents, but our brands are not related. Everyone works independently.
But my daughter and I do not only work on creating perfumes. When a new fragrance is born, one of us can try samples for ourselves. When we realize that the composition is nearing completion, Anais or I wear the perfume for about a week. And if during this time the scent has received three or four compliments, then the work can be completed. With such glowing reviews, we can take financial risks, knowing that to advance in the market, competent marketing will also be necessary. To attract attention, you need to attract attention.
For example, our Bake fragrance is a bestseller, it combines the aroma of lemon pie with cream, coffee, vanilla and a dash of salted caramel. This is the brand’s best-selling fragrance. It is based on the idea of sweet addiction. People immediately recognize the dessert atmosphere if they spray the composition. Our task is to invite the buyer to get to know themselves.
The light aroma of Smile with notes of raspberry and musk complements the Akro collection, which already includes compositions with notes of tea and pastries. Photo: Ilya Evstigneev
Can you tell us how the idea for a new fragrance comes about? How do you understand what people will want?
Olivier Cresp: First of all, I try to predict trends. Two or three years ago I said that vanilla would be at the peak of its popularity and that sunny accords would be in great demand. To predict new trends, I travel a lot, I talk to different people. That’s how an idea is born. But I am never inspired by fragrances that have already been successful on the perfumery market.
This is not your first time in Russia. During these trips, did you manage to find the idea that formed the basis of the perfume composition?
Olivier Cresp: This is my 55th visit to Russia in the last 10 years. And here, of course, I found inspiration. Next year we plan to present a fragrance entirely dedicated to Russia, not to a single city, not to Vladivostok, not to Sochi or Moscow, but to the whole country.
As for your cooperation with Russian retail chains, all Akro fragrances are presented exclusively in the perfumery and cosmetics network “LETUAL”. Have you given any additional meaning to this selectivity, where you can only catch the scent in a certain place?
Olivier Cresp: The cooperation between Akro and LETOAL allows us to present our fragrances in more than a thousand stores, in Russia and Central Asia. I gave an exclusive to LETUAL because they are the best.
The popularity of branded fragrances in Russia emerged not so long ago, precisely with the development of perfumery and cosmetics networks in the early 2000s. It was during this time that you created several fragrances that many women are still loyal to: Ange ou Demon for Givenchy, Light Blue for Dolce & Gabbana, Nina for Nina Ricci and others. How do you feel about this consistency? Does it prevent you from trying something new?
Olivier Cresp: Over the years, perfume production has evolved. This always happens during crises, and there have been several recently: in 2000, then the economic crises of 2008 and then several years of the coronavirus pandemic. And consumer habits, especially younger ones, have changed. The older generation can still wear a perfume for many years and they are really good scents, these women have taste. But more and more people have 5 to 10 bottles of different perfumes. This is normal and my only advice is not to mix them.
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