04/04/2024

Paris Perfume Week: looking back on the success of the first edition!

Sunday, March 24th. 6:00 PM. The first Paris Perfume Week, by Nez, comes to a close, and already, all participants (exhibitors, partners, or visitors) eagerly anticipate the second edition of the event, scheduled for 2025. Let’s look back on four days of rare intensity that successfully highlighted olfactory culture in all its richness and diversity.

Nez, the olfactory cultural movement, has expanded from paper, digital, and audio to now include events!
The Paris Perfume Week was initiated and organized by Nez, the olfactory cultural movement, and logically fits into the work carried out by its teams since the launch of Nez, the olfactory magazine, in 2016. A magazine that already positioned itself as the heir to the online magazine Auparfum, created some nine years earlier.

From online magazines (Auparfum, Mag by Nez) to a podcast channel (Podcasts by Nez), and including print magazines (Nez, the olfactory magazine, Niche by Nez), reference books on olfactory culture (Le Grand Livre du parfum, Une histoire de parfums, Les 111 parfums qu’il faut sentir avant de mourir…), as well as a presence at all major BtoB and BtoC perfume events worldwide, Nez has become, in just a few years, a recognized global and international media group.

It became logical for its founders to deploy an events component, as a culmination of nurturing a community of enthusiasts and professionals started 17 years ago!

Olfactory culture at the heart of the event
Romain Raimbault, director of the event, explained in an interview published on the Paris Perfume Week website his intention to “create links between various artistic domains, such as perfume and cinema, fashion, gastronomy, music, which will be highlighted, to emphasize the fact that smell is everywhere and plays a crucial role in our lives.”

The exhibition “Quand le parfum des plantes parle” (When the perfume of plants speaks), designed by Nez and the agency Projectiles, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Parfum d’Empire brand, demonstrated that perfume could be the subject of an exhibition. It showcased multisensory and immersive devices whose understated effectiveness paid tribute to the exceptional work of the perfumer – and founder of the brand – Marc-Antoine Corticchiato.

The Olfactory Bookstore, by Nez, welcomed hundreds of customers, who came to quench their thirst for olfactory readings… or book signings!

A PtoC event: from Public to Creators!
One of the great originalities of Paris Perfume Week was to implement the conditions for the meeting between creators and the public. These creators include not only brands, but also fragrance houses – responsible for a large part of the perfumes on the market – or even one of the main suppliers of natural ingredients for perfumery – LMR Naturals by IFF – without whom these creations could not come to life.

In the aisles of the event, we also encountered niche brands from France, Estonia, Scotland, or the United States, independent perfumers, and more well-known figures who came to give masterclasses: Francis Kurkdjian (Maison Francis Kurkdjian) or Mathilde Laurent (Cartier Parfums).

The numerous conferences and workshops were also an opportunity for meetings between scientists, experts, artists, historians… and even mixologists!

One place. One city.

Providing the Parisian public and the perfume community with an event of unprecedented scale was the stated goal of the organizers. To achieve this, and to move away from the usual standards of large trade shows, a venue was needed.

This venue was the Bastille Design Center in the 11th arrondissement, an industrial building dating back to the 19th century, refurbished into a cultural space. Its dimensions (700 m2), wooden cobblestones, period furniture, bright glass roof, and mezzanine overlooking the central area created a warm and intimate atmosphere conducive to the expression of olfactory sensitivities.

Through an off-site program, in partnership with the Fragrance Foundation France, involving educational, cultural, and commercial venues, the Paris Perfume Week also contributed to local dynamics and the visibility of its host city.

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