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63 About this deal
It’s turned to have more sentimental value than any economic significance. LVMH bought the house for the fashion, not the fragrance. Like all houses that no longer have the original designer at the helm, they drop their first name, which is why it’s now only Patou. Evans, Caroline " Jean Patou’s American Mannequins: Early Fashion Shows and Modernism", in Modernism/modernity 15:2 (April 2008), pp. 243–263. In 1925, the year of his great successes, he opened a shop in Monte-Carlo, which he frequented for its casino. In Deauville, Cannes and Biarritz, seaside resorts where one had to be seen, he sold bathrobes and swimwear made to measure, marked with his initials: "JP". Jean Patou participated in the emergence of the iconic French "je ne sais quoi" movement that has left a lasting mark on French style. I think that a list for men would be quite difficult and would show fragrances that are historically much more recent.
The sillage from my Joy extrait will fill a room in nothing flat, and it’s rich and heavy without being sweet and syrupy. I prefer this kind of classic vintage composition to contemporary mainstream frags that are ultra-sweet and high-calorie, but thin and shrill (not to mention overtly synthetic) at the same time. I’ll tell you a little about my relationship with each fragrance, then I’d love to hear how you’ve come to know each of them. Chanel No. 5 OperaFan: Hello Dear V – Late to the discussion, but since it’s 1000 I have to join. You described the exact feeling I have when wearing this scent – Glamourous with a capital “G.” In fact, I rarely wear it because I find it requires far more glamour than I can ever carry off, LoL! Old Spice is probably the only iconic product for men (in cologne or aftershave version) that was widely used. And it certainly does not have the glamour of a Joy, a N0.5, or a Shalimar.A dandy of the Roaring Twenties and an enlightened aesthete with impeccable taste, he travelled all over Europe and the United States, with an eternal cigarette between his fingertips. The American press describes him as "the most elegant man in Europe". A socialite, Jean Patou liked to party and dine at Maxim's. He himself organized evening runway shows that sometimes went on until the early morning. Infatuated with high speed and thrills, Jean Patou drove racing cars, gambled at casinos, and sailed speedboats on the open sea. A man in motion, Patou was always pulling forward. Classics always make me worry about reformulation. I have No. 5 EDT and parfum, Mitsouko, and Miss Dior Original, all bought in the last five years. Are they still what they should be? What once was, no longer is. Unpopular opinion, as I’m thankful for being able to witness this fragrance, but it has no place on the fragrance shelves any longer.
Jean Patou should have been incorporated into the company at the pointy end of LVMH's prestigious brands. I'm sure that was the intention at the time of the acquisition. Far from commercial scents, Joy is an artisanal-fragrance intended to express the peak of years of refined sensory art by Jean Patou. It has been available in shops since 1930. This long-lasting parfum lasts throughout the day with just a few dabs since the percentage of essences is quite high. Most eaux de parfum have between 15-20%. Oriental-scents, such as this one, are indulgent and exotic, fusing aromas such as vanilla, musk and spices together and oftentimes featuring an amber accord. Add a Little Romance Jean Patou is a prestigious, historic luxury brand. "The costliest perfume in the world": Jean Patou himself already did the work for you! (ie. brand equity, market positioning). For the informed, Jean Patou stands up there with Chanel. Christian Dior was there too. Around when 'Christian Dior' rebranded to 'Dior', it adopted a mass marketing strategy. All good, but that left a gap in the LVMH prestige brand offerings. (Which seems to be partially filled by brand Exclusifs now.)Plans are abandoned for 'something new'. A very millennial approach. Not all customers are Millenials. We don't all want syrupy, synthetic fruitichoulis everyday of the week. We even mourn Chanel with their insipidly weak formulations now. Top notes of this perfume include peach, green notes, rose, ylang-ylang, aldehyde, which provides a lemony-soapy accord and tuberose. Next middle notes of iris root, rose, orchid, jasmine and lily-of-the-valley take the spotlight. The fragrance reaches a climax with a base of cibet, sandalwood and musk. The combination of oriental-notes makes this seductive and alluring, perfect for a romantic evening. High Price but Convenient Size In 1925 Patou launched his perfume business with three fragrances created by Henri Alméras. [4] In 1928, Jean Patou created "Huile de Chaldée", the first sun tan lotion. Without its founder, the Jean Patou brand lost its aura. Marc Bohan took over the artistic direction in 1954. Following his lead, the house has seen some of the greatest names of fashion at its helm: Karl Lagerfeld, Michel Goma, and under his direction, Jean Paul Gaultier made his debut there, followed by Angelo Tarlazzi and Christian Lacroix. After Christian Lacroix left to start his own house, the Jean Patou house ceased its activity. Jean Patou remained a family-owned business until September 2001 when it was bought by P&G Prestige Beaute a division of Procter & Gamble, which also market perfumes for Jean Kerléo and Karl Lagerfeld.
Jean Patou revolutionized fashion by liberating the female figure. The couturier designed dresses to wear without a corset and invented sportswear well ahead of his time, making tennis champion, Suzanne Lenglen, his first muse. Joy was created as a reaction to the 1929 Wall Street crash, which had diminished the fortunes of Jean Patou's wealthy American clientele. Despite its elevated price and the depressed economic environment, Joy became a success and has remained Jean Patou's most famous fragrance. Patou was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2001. [3] In 2002, Patou launched Enjoy, a contemporary take on Joy meant for younger women.Jean Patou as a company suffered from going through the years of economic recession, but it had a contradictory approach: when things got tough, luxury was boosted. Even when the company was in difficulties, and so was its clientele, Patou's approach was always to surprise the market with seemingly nonsensical products. That was the case of Joy, the quintessence of rarity and supreme opulence. When in 1929, Jean Patou smelled the unreleased sample of what was to be Joy, he loved it, but the perfumer told him it would be impossible to release it in the marker, for the essences that had been used were too expensive, and impossible to use commercially due to the prohibitive price. Jean Patou took this answer and turned this perfume into a marketing strategy, announcing Joy as "The World's Costliest Perfume." It was a success! That worry aside, I am well on the way to loving No. 5 in parfum, though I need to be in the right mood. I’m not yet sure about the EDT. I loved Miss Dior Original from the beginning though, again, I wonder if it’s a ghost.
It's the end of an era, for all those who recognize Joy as an icon of perfumery, but also the end of many other scents, like 1000 and Sublime, pieces of olfaction that are a part of so many people's memories and personal stories. Maybe there just aren't enough buyers of these fragrances in the world. Maybe their time has passed and they have become fragrance zombies. As for me, I think that Joy is just as timeless and important as Chanel Nº5. But what was once the "Costliest Perfume in The World" seems to have lost its market value, at least for its current owners, LVMH.Mitsouko I have have started to maybe like – having tried a recent edp – but may need to think about it more. I first read about 1000 in a perfume article from the late ’80s. The article mentioned several celebrities who wore 1000 as their signature scents, among them was Liza Minelli. I remember obtaining a tiny mini of the edt and finding it too “big” for me. I had a very demure personality in those days and favored the likes of Laura Ashley No. 1 and Nina Ricci’s original Nina.
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