From the folkloric universe of Louis Vuitton’s master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud comes a brand new exploratory tome aptly titled A Perfume Atlas. Realised as a “sensory odyssey across the continents”, its contents centre around the raw materials that inspire the maison’s fragrance creations, offering an extremely rare glimpse into Belletrud’s exceptional savoir faire.
Coined as “an ode to savoir-faire, art and adventure”, the atlas follows the perfumer for the very first time as he journeys to the farthest reaches of the globe in search of remarkable raw materials; everything from the bergamot of Calabria to the oud Assam of Bangladesh to the Rose de Mai of Grasse. Building essential relationships with farmers in various remote destinations along the way, Belletrud then transports each carefully selected ingredient to Grasse (a French Riviera town often referred to as the world capital for perfume) for refinement before introducing them into his workshop, Les Fontaines Parfumées. Blending his findings into uniquely tailored and highly covetable concoctions, his peerless Louis Vuitton fragrances are immortalised within the tome and beautifully bound by a botanical hardback cover.
Across 380 pages, A Perfume Atlas delves into both the poetic and the scientific, shedding a light on the mysteries of the materials used in Belletrud’s olfactory work, from discovery, to harvest, extraction, distillation and finally, blending. Inside you’ll find more than 200 watercolour illustrations by Aurore de la Morinerie and vivid behind-the-scenes photographs by Sébastien Zanella who brings a journalistic touch to the tome. Renowned perfume expert and writer Lionel Paillès provides the words, opening the door to the house’s exceptional sensory world.
Published by Thames & Hudson, A Perfume Atlas is available for purchase with three different covers – jasmine, rose and lemon – or for the most dedicated of ‘cognoscenties’, a limited-edition set which includes a case of 45 phials containing the finest extractions of raw materials specially selected and presented by Belletrud.
Shop ‘A Perfume Atlas’ here. The ‘A Perfume Atlas’ exclusive set is available for €5,000 at selected Louis Vuitton stores. Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
