Louis Vuitton will release the book “Atlas of Perfumery”

The chief fragrance specialist at Louis Vuitton, Jacques Cavalier-Belletrude, recently signed autographs for journalists at the presentation of his book in the center of Paris. No matter how many times he did it, the line of people kept growing, enriched by conversations and glasses of champagne in the process.

The 380-page volume, entitled Atlas of Perfumery, describes the plants involved in the creation of fragrances. Such as key lime, vetiver, oud, which Cavalier-Belletrude examines with poetic delight and assures that they help create extraordinary products from LVMH Moët Hennessy, part of the LV group.

Where did he get his inspiration when starting to work on the book? “Love for pure materials and admiration for nature,” says the perfumer. “And constant gratitude to nature for the birth of such fantastic materials.”

It took him almost three years to create the beautifully illustrated book, which spans three continents. “It inspired me to travel. I know that I work for a travel brand, and my life is a journey,” Jacques added with a smile.

The book has three different covers and is structured taking into account the growing area of a particular plant. The African section, for example, contains stories about cocoa from Ivory Coast, frankincense from Somalia, neroli from Tunisia and rosemary from Morocco. And the American one included information about Peruvian balsam from El Salvador, guaiac wood from Paraguay and cardamom from Guatemala.

In his work on the Atlas of Perfumery, Cavalier-Belletrude was assisted by the writer Lionel Pallier, the illustrator Aurora de la Morineri and the photographer Sebastian Zanella.

Publisher Thames & Hudson will release the book in a limited edition. It will be available at a price of 160 euros (about 16 thousand rubles) from February 2 in some of the French Louis Vuitton boutiques, and from April 2, foreign fans of the brand’s perfume products will be able to buy it. On the same day, a “Special Perfumery Atlas Set” will go on sale in LV boutiques, consisting of a book and 45 bottles with pure plant extracts at a price of 5 thousand euros.