The Immaterial Turn

It has now been four years since I closed the brand Forbidden Denimeries. At the time, I decided that the direction the project had taken was too far removed from its original creation (my Master’s collection): Forbidden Denimeries, an oneiric collection paying tribute to my feminine muses through the codes of denim, worn on my male body. Added to this was the performative dimension the project embodied, combining video, photography, dance, movement, and human interaction.

From the moment I decided to turn it into a brand, I was confronted with the unforgiving reality of a luxury market closed to any transgression of masculine gender norms. Over the years, I learned a great deal in terms of marketing, project management, leadership, and communication, while the essence of the original project gradually drained away, becoming nothing more than a clothing brand among countless others.

In January 2022, I decided to turn the page and refocus on an artistic practice. First came relief, then the leap into the void. What followed were four years of inner turmoil and searching, marked by a constant back-and-forth between figuration and abstraction. I explored painting, drawing, and photography, moving restlessly from one to the other, never fully at ease, endlessly torn between the need to represent and the desire to dissolve form, between control and letting go.

Then came the revelation, on the eve of my wedding, at the Guerlain spa at the Beau-Rivage. Oud Nude did more than transport me: it struck me with sudden clarity. In that moment, I understood that perfume itself was a form of abstract art, entirely immaterial, invisible, yet deeply physical and emotional. This realization hit me head-on. The fragrance revealed itself as a pure artistic language, freed from form, image, and object, existing only through perception and memory.

As a teenager, I dreamed of becoming either an architect or a perfumer. I was told that both paths required a complex scientific background. Lacking the necessary scientific profile, I abandoned both dreams.

Following this olfactory revelation, I understood that my intention was not to become a perfumer, but to work with smells as a material, as a language, in order to create works of art. I wanted to use scent as a medium, conceptual, emotional, spatial. Discovering the work of the renowned artist Sissel Tolaas deeply resonated with me and confirmed that this path was not only possible, but necessary. Her practice gave me the confidence to embrace smell as an artistic tool in its own right.

I decided to learn, to learn on my own, as a self-taught practitioner. I had not felt such excitement at the idea of learning for a very long time. Learning in secret, like a child reading at night under the covers. Since 2024, I have been learning, discovering, failing, starting again, waiting, very often, yes, because each trial must mature for weeks before it can be judged.

Learning perfumery reconciled me with textiles, as they no longer needed to be garments; they became a support for my experiments. I found a new function for them. Everything opened up. I was on my way.

minimalist textile study and conifer essential oil bottles