Voyage in Provence

THE MAÎTRE PARFUMEUR OF LOUIS VUITTON CREATES THE BRAND’S SCENTS IN AN OLD BASTIDE IN GRASSE.

Jacques Cavallier Belletrud passed by here every morning on the way to school, unaware that behind those iron gates he would one day have an office and atelier. The estate known as Les Fontaines Parfumées, inside Villa Vauthier, was simply a dilapidated old bastide. It had lost its function in the world of perfume that dated back to the 1920s, when a fountain was built, sparkling with the fragrances created by the local maîtres: mimosa in January, violet in February, spring blossoms in April, roses in May, jasmine until the fall. In 2013 Louis Vuitton purchased the site, and after a year of restoration it has become the creative perfume center of the Maison and the LVMH group (besides the atelier of the Maître Parfumeur of Louis Vuitton, it contains that of François Demachy, creator of fragrances for Christian Dior). The first collection of men’s fragrances is about to be unveiled: L’Immensité, Nouveau Monde, Orage, Sur la Route, Au Hasard. The essential bottles designed by Marc Newson can be refilled in Louis Vuitton boutiques, all with fountains like that of the bastide in Grasse, where during the last century clients could take their perfumes directly from the source. The creative focal point is on the second floor, in Cavallier’s atelier, where refrigerated facilities conserve the various ingredients. The ground floor of the 17th century bastide is open to the public (with a hall, a dining room, a winter garden, a library and a kitchen), and connected to the other levels by a majestic staircase. All around, visitors can enjoy a marvelous olfactory garden designed by the landscape architect Jean Mus, another Grasse native.

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