Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue 20th Anniversary: An Interview With Its Creator, Olivier Cresp

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

Image: Firmenich.

Even those with only a passing interest in fragrance will have heard of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. Launched in 2001, its evocation of the sun, sea and sensuality of a southern Italy summer has been a huge commercial success for the luxury fashion brand.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

A large part of its success is down to the expertise of Olivier Cresp. The French master perfumer has produced hits such as Givenchy Ange ou Demon (2006), Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling (2011), Versace Eros Pour Femme (2014) and YSL Mon Paris (2016). And let’s not forget the ground-breaking Mugler Angel, which kick-started all things gourmand in 1992.

Cresp was recognised for his numerous accomplishments when The Fragrance Foundation gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

He talks to Fragroom about Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue’s popularity, powerful formula and the latest iteration, Light Blue Forever.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of Light Blue. Why does it have such enduring appeal?

Thank you. I’m very proud to have created Light Blue.

The fragrance’s concept is universal: love. I am a romantic at heart; eternal love has always enchanted me. It did when I first created Light Blue in 2001 and it continues to mesmerise me today.

“It’s an immense pleasure and honour to translate that concept into a fragrance that represents all that love is.”

It’s an immense pleasure and honour to translate that concept into a fragrance that represents all that love is: the first look, kiss and moments together, as well as the milestones that come later: anniversaries, children and grandchildren. Timeless and contemporary, Light Blue has adapted to every generation over time.

Its popularity is linked with its luminosity and freshness. There’s something about Italy and, in particular, Sicily, a place of importance to the Dolce & Gabbana creators [Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana].

SOMETHING ABOUT SICILY: The Italian island is a place of importance to Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Image: visitsicily.com.

Did you know you were onto a winner when you created it?

As perfumers, we never really know what’s going to be a great success. That said, Light Blue is one of my favourite creations and I have always believed in its power.

In some ways, Light Blue is a victim of its own success, because it’s so popular and therefore some people automatically dislike it. Does that bother you at all?

As soon as we started testing Light Blue, people’s reactions were nothing but positive; perhaps something about sharing this idea of love has created that effect.

I’ve never seen anyone reject this fragrance; it’s not a polarising one. In fact, I wear it often as it fits well on my skin, and I know other men wear it as well.

Image: dolcegabbana.com.

Light Blue is a great example of the use of synthetics and naturals. tell us more about that.

The fragrance has a powerful but minimalist formula. It’s composed of 25 ingredients, including a natural overdose of 10% lemon essence.

Featuring some wonderful captive molecules from Firmenich [the company he works for], the fragrance can be imitated, but never perfectly reproduced: woods, musks, amber and jasmine floral notes, as well as a crunchy Granny Smith apple. Without this harmony, the deep sensuality and unique light in Light Blue could not exist.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

The naturalness of the ingredients are prolonged by the innovative molecules. Together, the olfactive lightness gives you an infinite sensation of bright sunlight, crystal water, tanned skin and intense heat.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

SUN, SEA AND SKIN: Bianca Balti and David Gandy in the Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue ad. Image: dolcegabbana.com.

There’s been no shortage of flankers over the years. How did you approach the creation of Light Blue Forever to ensure it stays faithful to the original while offering something new?

I captured the joie de vivre and Mediterranean sensuality of Light Blue, and I enhanced the pillars of the perfume as if to multiply them tenfold: the essence of lemon, the apple, the white floral bouquet and the cedar. These are the olfactive threads that prolong eternal love in Light Blue.

For Light Blue Forever for Her, I insisted on the solar facets of the original fragrance, through both sparkling and luminous notes. I reinforced the floral heart with orange blossom to make it bloom bigger, without making it too dense or heavy.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

Image: dolcegabbana.com.

Finally, I used the latest generation of woods and musks to elevate and anchor the sparkling notes of the fragrance, enveloping the Light Blue signature with a contemporary sensual touch.

I wanted to make it very luminous and solar, inspired by the Mediterranean Sea and the orange blossoms found all along the coast. While there are still the lemony apple notes, the main accord is the orange blossom which brings strength, modernity, solar luminosity and warmth.

Did you have carte blanche in its creation, or was it a tight brief?

When we got the marketing brief from D&G, I did have carte blanche.  However, I don’t start from scratch because I must work from the original Light Blue.

“It’s always a challenge to rework a classic. You have to balance the original with new elements to create a new story.”

It’s always a challenge to rework a classic. You have to balance the original with new elements to create a new story. How do you improve eternal love?

The overall addictive sensation of Light Blue Forever, shaped around warm and multisensorial notes, is more universal, without crossing into gourmand territory.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

Image: dolcegabbana.com.

What’s next for Light Blue?

There is always another story of love to share. In fact, I am already working on the next one, but it must remain secret for the time being. However, I can tell you that even the next one will always be connected to the Light Blue masterpiece.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue EDT, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau Intense and Dolce & Gabbana Light Forever EDP are available at Woolworths.

 

 

Perfume Ads That Are Memorable For All The Right Reasons

Perfume Ads

WORK OF ART: René Gruau for Dior Diorissimo.

What is it about so many perfume ads that makes them cringe-worthy or unintentionally hilarious?

Perhaps it’s the standard, supposedly sexy voiceover in husky overtones. I’ve lost count of the variations on this theme. Or is it the clichéd imagery? Take your pick from any one of the following scenarios. Woman draped around a bottle for dear life. Square-jawed man staring intently/creepily at you. Intertwined couples staring into the distance, because there ain’t no chemistry. Now, I’m no prude. I love a sexy ad. But then I want some chemistry. And sexy often means what you don’t show.

Below are some of my favourite perfume ads through the decades. Are you ready for a dose of good ol’ nostalgia? Which are your favourite perfume ads? And your worst?

RENE GRUAU FOR DIOR

The Italian-born illustrator worked for many high-profile clients, including Balmain, Givenchy and Schiaperelli. But he is most well-known for his bold ads for Dior from the 1940s to 1990s.

The illustrator’s iconic ads for the French luxury fashion maison never fail to captivate me. As John Galliano, former Dior head designer, said in an interview with the Telegraph, “A Gruau sketch captures the energy, the sophistication and daring of Dior.” The originals, of course, are now coveted collector’s items.

CHANEL EGOISTE

A provocatively named scent deserves an over-the-top treatment. And that’s exactly what director Jean-Paul Goude delivered for Chanel’s masculine fragrance, Égoïste, in 1990. The award-winning ad entailed a partial reconstruction of the InterContinental Carlton Cannes Hotel in a desert near Rio de Janeiro at a reported cost of $1 million.

Who can forget the vision of all those pissed-off women opening and closing the shuttered doors to the soundtrack of Sergei Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights. Melodramatic and magnificent!

KENZO WORLD

Fragrance ads can be woefully lacking in humour. However, Spike Jonze’s commercial, more like a short film, for Kenzo World in 2016 took it to new levels of wonderful wackiness. American actress and dancer Margaret Qualley deserved an Oscar for her possessed performance in this modern classic. Created by Francis Kurkdjian, the fragrance itself wasn’t bad either.

https://youtu.be/ABz2m0olmPg?t=2

DOLCE & GABBANA LIGHT BLUE FEATURING DAVID GANDY

Okay, forget what I said earlier about too much flesh in my post. The big-production ads for Dolce & Gabbana starring British model David Gandy and directed by Mario Testino over the last two decades got the mix just right.

Gorgeous locations + abundant chemistry + cheeky sense of humour + male beauty at its finest = 💙 💙 💙

CALVIN KLEIN OBSESSION

The 90s were the decade of Kate Moss and the ad that made her a star was for Calvin Klein Obsession. It was shot in 1993 on the Virgin Islands by photographer Mario Sorrenti, when the model was 18 years old. Looking back at this campaign, there’s still something so natural and unforced about it.

The fragrance was re-invented in 2017 as Calvin Klein Obsessed with never-seen-before footage from the original shoot featuring in the advertising campaign, but didn’t have quite the same impact.