Le Galion: thriving elegance

Aside perfumistas, few people remember the name of Paul Vacher yet it's enough to name Arpège or Miss Dior to conjur up in everybody's memory iconic scenes and personalities symbols of elegance and refinement. His mastery will lead him to work again for Christian Dior creating  Diorling, a rarely elegant leathery chypre, and for other houses leaving his footprint as silent as influent on the eighth art of the nineteenth century. This trademark has so unconsciously permeated the common sense that, despite not recognizing it immediately, it puts a smile on your face when you get it just the way it happens meeting a longtime friend and realizing time hasn't changed him after all. This is the good vibration I had at Esxence while smelling the revived Le Galion fragrances created by Paul Vacher, a galleon that's back today flying french flag and that will land in september in Italy.

In a scenario where even who has no history cooks it up claiming he found old recipes except later failing himself with cheap reformulations or renditions of best sellers on the market, I admit I am a bit biased nowadays. What impressed me instead speaking with Nicolas Chabot, a forty years old charming guy with a master at the Sorbonne and past experiences in the visual marketing and communication for Estee Lauder, S.T. Dupont and Lancel, it's how gracefully he revived the brand showing a respect you can clearly sense through your eyes and nose.

Enstablished in 1930 by Principe Murat (a descendant of Joachim Murat), Le Galion immediately entrusts as in-house perfumer Paul Vacher who at 25 already renowned for creating Arpège with André Fraysse. In 1935 Prince Murat sells the company to Paul Vacher who will create succesful perfumes till its sudden death in 1975. The years spent training with him, led his daughter Dominique De Urresti to become the natural heir as in-house perfumer. In 1980 she decides to sell the brand to an americal group. Poorly managed the company will quickly collapse and sink into oblivion.

"Buying the brand has been a little bit like bringing the galleon back home"- tells me Nicolas. What a better way to do it than restarting exactly from Madame De Urresti? Thanks to her it's been possible to retrieve her father's archives and entrust perfumers like Jean Patou in-house perfumer Thomas Fontaine with them to remaster at best famous creations like Sortilège in line with nowadays materials and regulations.

Coming back from holidays then, you'll find also in Italy the nine Le Galion fragrances: Sortilège, Snob, Whip e Special for Gentelmen, and also the soliflores La Rose, Iris and Tubereuse all rediscovered with contemporary sparkle yet keeping up the grand allure of the classic french perfumery. To learm more don't miss my next post about the Le Galion scents I liked most.