Inspired directly by the only bodily fluid secreted solely through desire and brain chemistry, Petite Mort™ (Parfum d'une Femme) embodies the elusive substance that is created by a woman when she is about to climax.
Petite mort, little death, total release; beyond a scent, more like a convulsion of the senses, like a hot, gasping breath that penetrates your memories and alters your subconscious.
An insidiously attractive, sharp redolence, on the fine line between repulsion and addiction, Petite Mort™ insinuates itself into your veins and your mind.
This fragrance is not really a classic scent.
It is more the representation of a spiritual state, based on the paradox of an impossible ephemerality.
It is perfume as art, the olfactory preservation of a moment, so that it may live forever.
Humanly produced but cerebrally conceived, how can one capture the idea of the emotion of the sensation of a bodily function? How does one collect a substance whose production can only be stimulated from within? Modesty prevents us from unveiling the methods used to obtain a sample of this elusive fluid, but we strove for absolute integrity.
Bertrand Duchaufour (in collaboration with Art et Parfum) is the “nose” whose talent was able to distill this ultimate human extract into a scent. His alchemy blends the raw components that trigger our most primal reactions. Petite Mort’s fragrance exudes an animal carnality with salty hints of sweat and urea.
Amongst other ingredients, Duchaufour incorporated Sulfurol which evokes warm milk, a scent that is interpreted by the human brain as the closest thing to the smell of skin. According to the perfumer, certain subtle ingredients in the perfume are discriminatory, and these notes will not be perceived by everyone. He also describes Petite Mort as “aphrodisiacally compelling”.
As uncompromising as the project itself, the fragrance is explosively intense. Each bottle holds only 10 ml of dark, viscous, pure perfume with a flash of amethyst. The strongest perfume extracts typically contain between 10% and 40% of aromatic compounds. Petite Mort™ contains 100%. Its dosage is a single drop.
BOTTLE
The fragrance has been produced in an extremely limited edition of only 100 bottles and 15 Artist Proofs, each with its own signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. The bottle is an archetypal flask with an unorthodox twist. A cube of classic proportions, its neck is tied with a black band. The stopper is adorned by a polished cast metal plaque, engraved with each bottle’s edition number. A deceptively simple fabric pouch holds and protects the perfume.
The glass bottle is made by Verreries Pochet, one of the oldest French luxury glassmakers, founded in 1623. Their first designer perfume bottle was commissioned by the Empress Eugénie in 1858. Pochet famously created the “Eau de Cologne Impériale” bottle for Guerlain. They were also instrumental in reviving the famous Lalique crystal company.
PETITE MORT™ AS SEEN BY
Exceptional personalities, artists, photographers, designers, writers, architects, doctors have been selected to contribute an artwork that represents their vision of Petite Mort™. Only relevant — or highly irrelevant — famous (and infamous) worldwide contributors, encompassing the most innovative and provocative representatives of their field, have been invited to participate. Their contribution could be as simple or as complex as they wished, but it had to be truly their unique personal interpretation of the fragrance name and concept. Participating artists and personalities include:
ANDRES SERRANO
GOTSCHO
DENIS DARZACQ
JOSEPHUS THIMISTER
MATTHIAS VRIENS-MCGRATH
CHRISTIAN GHION
BAS LOUTER
MONA KUHN
JEAN-CHRISTIAN BOURCART
DEWEY NICKS
WOLFGANG JOOP
ANTOINE+MANUEL
MAX VADUKUL
ELLEN JONG
ARISTIDE VON BIENEFELDT
TAIT ROELOFS
ALLAN FRANKEL, M.D.
ALBERT GIORDAN
OLIVIER ZAHM
RANKIN
ABOUT THE CREATORS
MARC ATLAN
Petite Mort™ is the brainchild of Marc Atlan. Marc is a Creative Director, Photographer & Designer with 20 years of experience working with Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons, Helmut Lang, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Dior, Oliver Stone, Philippe Starck as well as many uncommon personalities in the art world.
BERTRAND DUCHAUFOUR
(In collaboration with Art et Parfum)
At 17, Bertrand became aware of perfumes and the world of creativity thanks to his then girlfriend. That newfound passion has never faded. After 3 years of internship in Grasse, he spent the next 22 years fine-tuning his talent and acquiring an expertise which eventually enabled him to work as a free lance perfumer on projects of the most extraordinary nature. In Duchaufour’s compositions, he systematically seeks the link between the most delicate harmony and the tendency towards imbalance and deviation. Bertrand Duchaufour has created legendary fragrances for Comme des Garçons, Penhaligon’s, Acqua di Parma, Christian Dior and L’Artisan Parfumeur.
KILIAN HENNESSY
One of the invisible facilitators and partners on this project is Kilian Hennessy. Kilian, heir to the Hennessy family, founded his highly successful fragrance house “By Kilian” in 2007. Kilian Hennessy has generously provided his experience and expertise throughout the entire project.
10 X 100 X 1000
(10 ml x 100 bottles x $1,000)
Each edition is unique. Handmade, hand poured, hand finished.
Each 10 ml bottle carries its own numbered engraved metal plaque.
Only 100 Bottles are available at $1,000 each.
