Calandre by Paco Rabanne, the Scent of Scandal
Paco Rabanne, an iconic fashion designer of 3 decades but also a name synonymous with successful perfumes, has passed away at the age of 88.
He was a creative genius, a name that evoked innovation in fashion, but also in perfumes.
I have a particular passion for “Calandre”, his first perfume, released in 1969, an erotic year according to Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin…
A creation that opened a new era in perfumery by bringing audacity and sensuality to what was at the time a rather conservative industry.
First the name, “Calandre”. Could one imagine a name more at odds with the traditional codes of perfumery? By choosing a name that referred to a car part, Paco Rabanne was already breaking the rules.
Calandre also caused controversy because of its olfactory brief. It was supposed to evoke “a luxury car with leather seats in which a couple has just made love”.
Calandre definitely helped revolutionize the way women perceived themselves. The women who wore Calandre were free, confident and bold, just like the 70’s were about to be.
Calandre was the first of a long line of successful perfumes that never left anyone indifferent, always different, often surprising.
I still wear “Paco Rabanne pour Homme” sometimes. Have you ever worn a Paco Rabanne fragrance?
See, feel, breathe... 