The First Twenty Years

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle turned 20 on June 6th. To honor their founder and the past twenty years, A BOOK has just been published by Rizzoli. Here is a preview to whet your appetite…

When he received the first copies of "EDPFM LES VINGT PREMIERES ANNEES" at his home in Long Island, Frédéric Malle admitted to having a truly emotional moment. This moment was shared with his family, his wife, and his children. Yet, this is not Frédéric Malle's first publication.

In 2011, "FREDERIC MALLE, ON PERFUME MAKING" was published, illustrated by his friend Konstantin Kakanias. In it, he discussed each perfume produced by the house. But this time, it's something different.

As the name suggests, "The First Twenty Years" is a book that offers a retrospective on the last twenty years of his life. Twenty years dedicated to the creation and development of the first and only perfume publishing house in the world.

"This book is like a photo album. It traces and puts into perspective twenty years of work, progressive building, adventures, and, of course, creation."

The perfume publisher won't admit it, but he is proud and happy to celebrate the first twenty years of the brand he founded in 2000. Frédéric Malle is a man driven by affinities. For the writing of the book, he trusted Marion Vignal: a French journalist with a love for perfume and a specialist in design, two passions they share. As for the artistic direction, he naturally entrusted it to Patrick Li, a highly talented graphic designer who has been collaborating with the house for over ten years and has been the artistic director of T, the Style Magazine of the New York Times, since 2012.

Guided by his artistic sensibility, he wanted the book to be a sort of "luxury scrapbook," an album filled with many images, as that is how he personally operates.

His relationship with things is extremely visual. That's why he insisted that, based on synopses he designed with Marion Vignal, Benjamin Bachelier illustrate the story of the creation of three legendary perfumes from Editions de Parfums: MUSC RAVAGEUR, FRENCH LOVER and PORTRAIT OF A LADY, respectively signed in 2000 by Maurice Roucel, in 2007 by Pierre Bourdon, and in 2010 by Dominique Ropion. Frédéric Malle thus shares his "publisher's adventures" in the form of comic strips, from which we share a few excerpts with you here.

For us readers, the first moment of emotion occurs right in the preface. Written on January 6, 2020, by Jean-Claude Ellena, one of the star perfumers of Editions de Parfums and a writer himself, it sets the tone beautifully. How better to start reading "EDPFM: The First Twenty Years" than with this heartfelt tribute from a perfumer, on behalf of all others, to the man who gave them the freedom to practice their craft and be recognized as true artists?

As we read the book, we are impressed by the multiple talents of Frédéric Malle, by his keen and unique vision, and by his profound passion for perfume and the profession of perfumery. A paradoxical urge arises to write or whisper to the perfume publisher: "Here’s to the next twenty years and all the masterpieces that will become the scent of our lives."

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