Interview of Luc GABRIEL
founder of Cherigan.
How did you hear about CHERIGAN?
Luc Gabriel: I discovered CHERIGAN while exploring the stories and archives of modern perfumery, particularly those from the 1930s. I am fascinated by this pivotal period, which was a parenthesis between the end of an enchanted world buried with the First World War and the world of industrialization, Art Nouveau, technological advancements, universal exhibitions, airplanes, and automobiles.At that time, people envisioned a bright future for humanity, not the beginning of the dark hours of fascism and World War II. The 1920s and 1930s witnessed a wave of liberation and creativity, with Paris at the epicenter, unlike anything seen before in the history of art, science, and literature.
This is especially true for perfumes, which experienced their golden age after the advancements of early-century modern perfumery. New chemical components (synthetic musks, vanillin, aldehydes, etc.), new raw materials derived from recent extraction methods and new regions of the world, untapped grounds for launching new olfactory compositions (creation of Chypre in 1917), the liberation of women and social norms—all of these influenced the perfumes of the Art Deco era, reflecting the movement that captivated a generation hungry for life, meaning, and freedom. It was during my exploration of this period that I discovered CHERIGAN, like a gem among the ruins of vanished brands.
Was it easy to find the vintage bottles and fragrances from that era?
L.G.: It was an exciting search. I had extensive discussions with collectors, bloggers, perfumers, fragrance specialists, and searched through fairs and auctions. As a result, we were able to find many different bottles from France, the United States, and even Australia. CHERIGAN created perfumes that served as landmarks, such as Fleurs de Tabac, Chance, Parisienne, Bleu Impérial, among others. In total, there are about fifteen perfumes. From the beginning, a close connection was established with Cuba, a place of nocturnal extravagance, smoky casinos resonating with big bands through the night, while the American golden youth continued to gamble on the green felt of chance.Relaunching CHERIGAN over 90 years after its birth, was it a risky venture?
Only bottles, remnants of perfumes, and advertisements from that era remained. However, there were magical olfactory creations, great freedom in design and product definition, and a keen sense of the spirit of the times that defined a generation. We had to rework the formulas using modern chemical analysis (mass spectrometry, gas chromatography), smell samples of perfumes from that era, and take into account the disappearance of certain raw materials and modern regulatory constraints to come as close as possible to the truth of these vintage fragrances.
A translation process was necessary to rediscover these gems and transport us to the modernity of the 1920s and 1930s.
CHERIGAN is a brand of pleasure, luxury, refinement, elegance, and impertinence. We had to work on the fragrances so that these values were present in the olfactory experience while also conveying the ambiance of that time—powerful, electrifying, passionate.
That's one of the reasons why the fragrances are only available in Extrait concentration, with great intrinsic power, while maintaining a finesse in craftsmanship that allows us to reconnect with the modernity of the 1930s. These fragrances are vintage but not outdated, powerful but not suffocating, daring but not conceptual, composed of 90% to 99% natural ingredients depending on the fragrance.
It was a balancing act that required months of fine-tuning with the perfumers.
Some of our historic bottles
10 Rue ferdinand Duval
75004 PARIS
Metro Saint Paul Le Marais
Parking Hotel de Ville
Open hours
Mon - Fri, 8am - 10pm
Saturday, 10am - 10pm
Sunday, 10am - 6pm