“I REMEMBER the smell of the damp stones from my grandparents’ house and the scents of shrubs burnt by the sun on the hills behind their place,” ruminates Olivier Polge, Perfumer-Creator for the house of Chanel. These vivid childhood memories, with all the warm natural scents they evoke, would become the foundational building blocks for his successful career.
Olivier Polge in Chapter 2: I am a Nose for Chanel
Olivier Polge in Chapter 2: I am a Nose for Chanel
Olivier Polge’s passion for all things olfactory was undoubtedly inherited by blood, yet heightened by the transformative sensory experience of an upbringing on the French Riviera. His father, the esteemed Jacques Polge, took the role of house perfumer at Chanel back in 1978. When it was announced that Olivier would take up his father’s work in 2013, it was these influences that transformed him into one of the, if not the best, nose in the perfumery industry today.
Olivier Polge in Chapter 2: I AM A NOSE for Chanel
In I am a Nose, the second installment in Chanel’s film series dedicated to its perfuming expertise, Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai direct viewers serenely through the fantastic world of fragrance. Narrated by Polge, the video overlays his voice on top of visuals that echo his formative experiences with scents in nature. He speaks about how fragrance has always been a family affair for him and how his process of perfume creation involves an almost musical composition quality as well as formula creation and deeply intricate note-taking.
Olivier Polge in Chapter 2: I AM A NOSE for Chanel
Olivier Polge in Chapter 2: I AM A NOSE for Chanel
With I AM A NOSE, Chanel paints for us an extraordinary picture of the history, the travels between Syracuse and Grasse, which make Oliver Polge the talented house perfumer he is today.
by Maria Noyen
Watch Chapter 2: I am a Nose here