Etat Libre d’Orange is a very special niche perfume brand, one of my personal favorites. And not just because of their whimsical and witty point of view, but because of the extraordinary quality of their perfumes reflected in boundless creativity scent-wise. Their creations are both chaotic and harmonious, but always fun. I had an opportunity to do an interview with the man behind this house – Etienne de Swardt, whose quirkiness is the driving force of Etat Libre d’Orange. I hope you will find it entertaining…I, as a fan, certainly do.
IGOR: What is the defining characteristic or quality that sets ELO fragrances from the rest of the niche world?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: “At the end, we die so let’s be fundamentally frivolous, cynical and dramatic.” is our mantra at ELO the rest is anecdotic. Too short as an answer you want more Igor? More what? More “ecstasy, jealousy, comedy of love, tragedy, harmony, and fantasy my dear…Like the Cary Grants and Kellys once before” it sounds like a melody of the 80s Igor, Alphaville but you are most probably too young Igor so yes ELO has been forged through and by the 80s + a glimpse of the dark romantic 19th century of Musset and Rimbaud + what else the “serious moonlight” of David Bowie? the vanity of Rock Hudson in the picture attached shaking hands with Michael Jackson both kings gone with the wind by now meaning vanity does not save 😉 and then “circulez y a rien à voir ” oups + Sinnerman a beautiful song of Nina Simone (from which I ignited our perfume She was an anomaly ) + the scent of a puppy Wizsla or Weimaraner especially their inner paws + the eternal enigmatic beauty of Edward Lawrence, his quest in the Nefud desert “to Aqaba” and the sublime esthetic vision of David Lean. And as final fragments of ELO’s definition, I shall say the poetry of Charles Peguy on the Chateaux de Loire and the architecture of the Cathedral of Chartres, a monument that can save all living forms from despair. Forget the entire rest of human history, the above is enough.
IGOR: What is a beautiful perfume and what is a good perfume? Is it one of the same or?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: The artist Tom of Finland when answering the question ” What is the difference between porn and erotic? said, “there is no line it’s integrated”. So as long as a perfume prolongates the memory of love and beauty it’s a decent one that deserves a bravo as a crusader of passion in a natural spray;-)
IGOR: Do you dream of perfumes and can you remember some that you dreamt of?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: Infusion d’Iris of Prada, this very perfume “habite le souvenir d’un manque” but I hate that so-called self singularity where we invent ourselves as pathetic avatar of Marcel Proust. Let’s dilute ourselves into the vast ocean of universality as one single people of the fraternity but this assertion would damage or scent industry built on the vanity fair, encouraging it, so pardon my nonsense, Igor 😉
IGOR: Are there limits in what we can imagine or do in perfumery? And if there are, who creates them, nature itself…our mind, culture?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: At ELO we have been proclaiming for 14 years that the Cont and the Poetry precede the formulation, so as they are unlimited in fantasy our perfumes are organic consequences of unlimited nature so they are unlimited. Fantasy is the very nature of ELO and it’s limitless. Vast like the Nefud desert 😉
IGOR: What is your definition or concept of perfume, having in mind your famous perfume Secretions Magnifiques that contradicts many traditional notions about perfumes?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: Existentialism was my word in 2006, and it’s still vivid as a def ie to take yourself out of the groove, to walk the road the less traveled one step aside from the crowd and then get lost in translation to feel alive ie take perspective on things. We bow to Lacan, Freud (and Gary Larson of course see attached) and we value our inner child strongly embroidered in the living fragile adult.
IGOR: I know that you, as well as niche brands in general, don’t use celebrities for promotional purposes, but if you had to choose some celebrity to be ”the face” of Secretions Magnifiques, what would that person be?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: A dead one of course because the departed are always magnificent, sublimated by their death + they don’t talk, don’t sue, don’t ascertain… so one name and one name only ALFRED DE MUSSET. see the picture attached a vain unshaved selfie to tell you that with just 1,5 euros in your pocket you can control mankind and built a scent empire instead of just a state of Orange.
IGOR: What 3 fragrances would you recommend to someone that never tried ELO fragrances before, as some sort of introduction to the brand?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: Hermann, Hermann, and Hermann. and if you need 5 I would say The Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinski the eternal best) and Experimentum Crucis (Newton the eternal best too)
IGOR: What was your favorite perfume before you started with ELO?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: You want me to paraphrase Marcel Proust and turn pathetic with my madeleine 😉 ok Givenchy Gentleman.
IGOR: Why are fragrances from Orange Extraordinaire collections special? What is the idea behind this collection and why should fans of ELO try them, besides the fact that they are fans?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: For superlative moments go for superlative intentions and then die happy, satisfied, and contented. Try Crucis and its poetry of the rainbow where you will be diffracting light on your skin, try Spice and 500 years to serve the rose with panache as a knight of the renaissance.
IGOR: How future smells through the eyes of ELO?
ETIENNE DE SWARDT: Like a CRACKER JACK inside pack smell see attached, LA FIN DU MONDE oblige Igor, all our systems are collapsing from ecology to virology so yes our perfume LA FIN DU MONDE is the answer to your final question. No more no less.
