When the team at Ape to Gentleman discussed who we would like to interview, the name Blaise Mautin was greeted with much excitement. Although some of our readers won’t know the name per se, if you’ve ever stayed in one of the extravagant Hyatt hotels, or visited one of Visvim’s flagship stores, then chances are you have experienced his incredible work.

A man known in fashion circles as “the nose who knows”, or the dashing gentleman who is usually having his own private fashion show at Visvim’s Paris showroom, Ladies and Gentleman, we present Blaise Mautin.

 

Interview: Stef McClean

Location: Paris

Images: Blaise Mautin

 

Let’s start at the very beginning… When was the first time you worked with fragrance in your professional career?

The first time I worked with fragrance was when I was commissioned by famous hotel ‘The Bristol’ in Paris; they asked me to design a room scent especially for them. The atmosphere in the hotel was splendid and I chose to work on a rose and geranium scent from Madagascar.

Is there any particular ingredient that you have wanted to work with but haven’t been able to yet?

I have heard that the coffee flower scent is amazing so I would very much love to discover that. I was at a dinner party where a friend of mine spoke continuously for 20 minutes about that particular scent, which really left an impression on me. Since then I have been obsessed trying to get hold of this scent. I consulted my professional team and none of them had really heard of it – so for the time being, I must be patient.
 

What is your opinion on the relationship between fragrance and fashion?

Fashion and fragrance have many traits in common; they are both crafts, extremely creative, and try to translate the essence of their work to the customer. The relationship between them tends to work well, brings out the quality and can test a brand – for better or worse.

You have worked on some varied and interesting projects, how was it that you ended up working with Visvim?

Both Hiroki [Nakamura] and I believe in the quality of our products and we convey this feeling to our customers. Hiroki first discovered my products when he came to Paris and stayed in a hotel were all the toiletries were designed exclusively by me. He really liked them and expressed his desire to meet; since our first meeting Hiroki has been really supportive to my work and has commissioned 8 different scents from me, for his Visvim brand and stores.