Interview with Fabrice Penot of Le Labo

Known for its limited collection, organic-meets-industrial sleek packaging and handmade touch, Le Labo has amassed a cult-like following since its launch in 2006. Each perfume, named according to the number of ingredients as well as the main ingredient, exudes a musky base beneath its complex fresh, “dirty” or citrusy scent.

I had the pleasure of sitting down in the middle of Barneys with Le Labo co-founder Fabrice Penot last week—he came in town for a personal appearance—to discuss memory, desire and Proust.

THE BASICS
What exactly is your role in the creation of perfume?
Well, my partner Eddie [Roschi] and I are not perfumers, per se. We are more the artistic directors in the creation of the formula. When we want to create a perfume, we share the vision with our perfumers. We work with six or seen perfumers who are all considered the Johann Sebastian Bachs, and better than, of perfumery today. Depending on the family of perfume we want to create, the olfactory family—Oriental, fresh, floral, for instance—we contact [the perfumer] that has the style we want.

Le Labo offers masculine, feminine and unisex scents. What distinguishes each category?
It’s our statement to say that perfume has no gender at an artistic level. We have interest in distinguishing them in our shop because we find people find it overwhelming to just have 12 fragrances on the floor. There is nothing that makes me more happy than a man buying one of our so-called feminine perfumes because it shows that somebody is celebrating our spirit of breaking the pattern of old ways of seeing perfume.

SEX AND SCENTS
There seems to be an emphasis on channeling animalistic behavior, as well as sexual desire, with the brand.
Well, we can’t deny that perfume is very sensual. [It] says something about the impact you want to have on people. Our sense of smell is linked to an animalistic side. The nose is linked to a sense of desire. Because we’re sexual creatures, we like idea of making people more sexual with our perfume than without it. Our perfume is created with this in mind. But there is many ways of doing so. Oud 27 is very dirty; it’s supposed to awaken animal within ourselves. Bergamot 22 is fresh and clean; it brings a sense of self-confidence, which has an impact on what kind of aura [we] give to the world.

What role do you think scent plays in relationships?
In French, [the translation of] "I can’t bear someone" [is] “I can’t smell this person.” It’s very strong. In other cultures, you say "I love you" with the nose. The Inuits kiss with their noses. I do that with my daughter. It’s to link the importance of sense of smell with relationships.

ON MEMORY
I’ve read that scent helps to solidify memory. I’m curious, do you have specific memories affiliated with specific scents?
Everyone has that in life. For me, I have a strong memory of a fig tree my grandmother had in her backyard, so it’s emotional for me every time I smell that. Or my first love. The pure essence of vanilla brings me back to when I was 12. In Remembrance of Things Past, Proust [writes about] how when he was in his twenties, he smells a madeleine, and it brings back memories of when he was a kid. He goes on for pages about how this sense of smell brings him back in time. It’s a mythical moment in literature and the perfume world because it’s one that captures in a beautiful way the link between smell and memory.

Have you ever tried to capture specific memories with a scent?
No, because [my partner Eddie Roschi and I] are two. We don’t have the same memories. And because I’m [an] amnesiac. I have few memories of my life. I work more with the idea that the perfume we’re going to create is going to be the origin or memory. Of ours in the process of creation and for all the people who are going to wear them. The idea is to make them memorable because the world of perfume is oversaturated. It’s hard to create a perfume that has never been smelled. When I was working for Armani, he said that elegance is not made to be noticed. It’s to be remembered. I like this idea in perfumery. That’s the kind of perfume we’d like to create

MADE TO ORDER
What’s the idea behind creating exclusive scents for different cities?
One is anti-globalization. We didn’t like the idea when we were traveling from Tokyo or London or Paris that we’d find the same shirt or bag. We wanted to take the time and energy to create something that would be gift to a city to welcome us and excitement to clients that there’s something they can’t smell somewhere else. For every location we open, we create one specific scent. But we also created one for Paris and San Francisco [where we only sell at Barneys]. We’re thinking of Chicago. Part of the reason I’m here is to inspire me because when I came here for the first time in spring I felt a connection with the city. I felt people in Chicago had a level of awareness and sophistication to appreciate our brand, and that deserves a specific perfume. I think it will be ready a year from now.

Any hints regarding the scent?
I’m just at the beginning of the process. Not only smells but feelings. The perfume we did for New York is energetic, the bright lights I was astonished by when I came from Paris six years ago where everything is gray. Maybe a draft of sensuality for Chicago. I don’t know.

But I can’t know the smell of New York’s scent unless I visit your store in New York?
Well, for the first time, we are going to make a small number of bottles in November available to smell, six city exclusives, here at [at Barneys and my stores]. You can preorder them through Barneys. There are 25 bottles of each scent available…and they’ll be delivered in December with your name on it.