Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud On The Inspiration Behind Louis Vuitton’s Latest Fragrance

After a decade spent composing iconic fragrances for Louis Vuitton, the Master perfumer speaks to Bazaar’s Jessica Michault on the secret behind his latest scent

Master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud could not have planned the big reveal of his latest perfume for Louis Vuitton better if he had tried. High above the bustling streets of Los Angeles, under the open dome at the top of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Frenchman gallantly attempted to explain the origins of his new scent to a celebrity-studded, VIP audience. The only snag… in true Los Angeles fashion, an LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) helicopter kept circling the sky above him, the sound of its whirling rotor making it difficult to hear Jacques speak eloquently about top notes.

Louis Vuitton’s ‘nose’ took it all in his stride, however, waving at one point as the helicopter hovered overhead. Thus this noisy, unexpected background player to his fragrance presentation ended up becoming a part of it. Adding a heightened sense of dynamism to the moment and making the fragrance, named City of Stars, feel that much more rooted in the reality of Tinseltown.

This latest offering marks the perfumer’s 33rd scent, since first launching the fragrance division for the luxury house in 2012 with a bang, presenting the brand’s first seven signature scents in one fell swoop. And over the past decade, Jacques has earned a reputation as a prolific perfumer. In fact, what he loves most about working at Louis Vuitton is that he can take everything at his own pace.

“We have built the olfactive signature of the maison Louis Vuitton, which had never been done before. It was the last big brand without any perfumes,” says Jacques. “I have the total freedom to create what I want. That is a luxury.”

Olfactory expertise is in Jacques’ DNA. A third-generation descendent of a prestigious line of perfumers, Jacques has been surrounded by scents since birth. His family has lived in the city of Grasse in France – known as the cradle of perfume – since the 15th century. And now his daughter is training alongside him to follow in the family tradition.

As for City of Stars, because of Covid, the fragrance has been gestating for over three years. The idea for the scent came to Jacques during a pre-pandemic visit to L.A. when he spent a night on the town with Alex Israel, the multidisciplinary artist who is behind the artwork used for the perfume’s packaging. “The atmosphere at Chateau Marmont was really unique,’’ recalls the perfumer. “I said to myself, I want to create an eau de cologne with the sensuality of the night.”

As any fragrance aficionado will know, colognes are typically only worn during the day. So to accomplish the feat of creating a scent with an after-hours attitude, Jacques used a quintet of citrus notes that startlingly blend together. Not unlike a night in L.A. where one thing can lead very unexpectedly to another.

“I decided to blend the maximum of citrus notes that I could in order to create a very sparkling top note with a lot of joy, with a lot of energy. L.A. is about energy. I love the contrast here, you have the energy and at the same time it’s very cool,” he explains as he motions to the bustling sun-drenched Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel where we are chatting – as if to prove his point.

Number one on the call sheet for the new scent was the aroma of blood orange. Jacques was attracted to the “crispy” nature of it and its interesting “sugary” note as opposed to the classic acerbic essence found at the base of most citrus fruits. From there, he sprinkled in bergamot from Calabria, lemon and mandarin from Sicily and lime from Mexico. Then to act as a counterbalance to all of that vitamin C foundation work, he wove Tiaré flower, sandalwood and musk into the mix.

“My quest is the freshness,” says Jacques about his fragrance mission at Louis Vuitton. “How to translate the freshness with a new concept, bringing a 21st-century freshness in our perfumes.” It is this sort of expansive definition of fragrance, as proven with City Of Stars, that has kept Jacques at the forefront of perfume innovation.

City Of Stars is the fourth chapter in the Les Colognes Louis Vuitton series of scents. Each one is inspired by a different aspect of life in the Golden State. California Dream captured the essence of a West Coast sunset. Afternoon Swim was concocted to conjure up the freshness of the vast ocean and On The Beach was a nod to days spent soaking up the sun, slathered in sunscreen with sand between the toes and sea breezes caressing the skin.

The role that City Of Stars is meant to play in this fragrance storyline is to encapsulate that special time of the day when the sun has just set and the twinkling heavens prove to be no match for the downtown lights and a city filled with Hollywood stars. “The stars are actually down in the city,” affirms Alex about the direction he took with the cinematic packaging. “That was a decision I made – to shift your energy and you’re thinking about what stars are, where they could be, or where you might find them. It’s this perfect sunset moment where they’re not in the sky, but they’re all twinkling in the city itself. It’s a city made of stars. Its people are stars.”

For Jacques, there is something so uniquely special about California that has drawn him here over and over again for years. Inspiring daring new scents crafted as olfactory recollections of places or moments he wants to capture in a bottle, like liquid souvenirs. “California is magical because it is the temple of freedom,” proclaims the perfumer. “Here we all have the capacity of making our dreams come true.”

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s May 2022 issue.