"A type of conversation that happens in perfumery": WWD BeautyInc INterview with Jacques Polge

"What's your favorite fragrance not created by you? I will never denigrade my confreres, but I'm not going to advertise them, either! That said, we all love the first perfumes made by the great houses, like Guerlain or Coty, because that's te beginning of it all. There's a type of conversation that happens in perfumery. When Coty did Chypre de Coty, Guerlain did Mitsouko. If we try to name all the fragrances with a relation to Shalimar, we'd be in the hundreds. I will say there'sa perfume by Schiaparelli that's now gone called Shocking. I worked for the company that made it before I was at Chanel. It has a lot o patchouli and every time I work with patchouli, I think of it. What about favorites among your own? I'd say Allure for women, becayse it's very simple and when I smell it on a woman it's very pleasant. (...)" Two fragrances for Chanel by Polge are coming out this fall: "a women's scent for the limited edition Les Exclusifs range called Jersey, in honor of one of Coco Chanel's favorite fabrics, and No 19 Poudre, a rethinking of the original No. 19, with added notes of iris. (Source, WWD BeautyInc, Sat. May 21st, The Frgarance Issue, pages 8-10.)