Interview with the famous Master Perfumer Anne Flipo

"When designing a Paco Rabanne perfume, are you given specific instructions or, on the contrary, are you given a lot of freedom?

When designing a Paco Rabanne perfume, we are given a lot of freedom.

In fact, what is very important is to have a very strong idea that will impact and surprise them, on which they will be hooked and which they will use in their marketing process.

At the end of their marketing process, their goal is to be able to tell a story from the idea we bring to them. So, we will work on it together and often find a second duo that will contrast the first one, and which will allow us to move forward.

What was your first reaction when you were asked to develop a perfume using artificial intelligence?

Personally, working with artificial intelligence is not really what I prefer… but I think you have to live with it and that it's mainly a marketing support.

We were the ones who hooked them (Paco Rabanne) up with the initial idea of implementing artificial intelligence to “Phantom”. They loved the idea, and this made us win the project as it really made sense regarding the brand’s image.

And then for our future projects, we also propose to use artificial intelligence from the start, to recover a lot of data.

We have integrated AI into our models and our cardex files, which enables us to quickly recover a lot of data and run our formulas to see if they perform better, or to select certain items that will help us win tests, etc. It's mainly in this perspective. However, nothing will replace us!

How do you think artificial intelligence impacts the image of the Paco Rabanne brand?

I think it works very well with the Paco Rabanne brand, because they are an avant-garde brand first and foremost, just like their creator Paco-Rabanne. So if it's well done, it works very well and it's coherent.

What do you think makes a perfume successful?

A good marketing mix, I think, is the key for the perfume as a whole.

And on an olfactory note, what makes it successful, as Frédéric Appaire one of the former marketing directors of Paco Rabanne said, is something fresh and pleasant in the head, powerful in the base, broad and sensual."

Analysis

Anne Flipo is known for being one of the greatest perfumers in France, and in the world.

Thanks to the information collected in my recent article about AI with the Phantom project, I could contrast Anne Flipo’s sayings with the information collected from the internet.

Anne gave me a huge insight regarding the brand image Paco Rabanne wanted to project, and why the inclusion of artificial Intelligence in this project made so much sense. She also gave me a better understanding of how they actually used the cardex files for their creations.

She insisted that AI is not included to replace the Perfumer’s job, but only to support it by giving new unexplored ideas, hence innovating in the way we can satisfy a customer. It is a tool we need to welcome with an open-mind, and who will become indispensable in the future for any industry.

By Clara O'Mahony

29/11/2021