PARIS — Christian Astuguevieille, who channeled Comme des Garçons’ avant-garde aesthetic into unconventional olfactive creations, has died at the age of 79.
“It is with profound sadness that we have learnt of the passing of Christian Astuguevieille, a multidisciplinary artist and a great innovator in the perfume industry and creative director of Comme des Garçons Parfums,” the house said in a statement Monday evening. “He is, and will remain, a pillar in the creation of our perfumes, which he developed in synergy with Rei Kawakubo.”
Astuguevieille passed away in Paris on Feb. 13.
He and Kawakubo, who founded and designs Comme des Garçons fashion, began developing “anti-perfume” perfumes together from the outset. In 1994, he and the designer, the creator of perfume bottles and outer packaging, came out with Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum, which is now aptly referred to as The Original.
Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum
Courtesy of Comme des Garçons
Many other maverick ideas and fragrances ensued thereafter, including “pebble bottle” scents and limited-edition “pebble events.” Series kicked off in the late 1990s, starting with Leaves, which included Calamus, Lily, Tea, Mint and Shiso, to give the conceptual idea of various leaves. The series Red was about things with that color — think Carnation, Harissa, Palisander, Rose and Sequoia. Incense became an olfactive journey through various faiths.
The Odeur pillar is made up of fragrances such as Odeur 53, Odeur 71 and Odeur du Théâtre du Châtelet, and characterized by Kawakubo specifically as “anti-perfumes.” The most recent, Odeur 10, has been described as a chemical composition of clean. For that, Astuguevieille chose to work with hydrogen peroxide.
He also created scents for the World of CDG fragrance pillar, and collaboration scents, including with Monocle and Max Richter.
Altogether, Astuguevieille created for Comme des Garçons northward of 90 perfumes and 115 stockkeeping units.
Astuguevieille was born in Paris in 1946. Working across art, design and fashion, he always believed that perceptions should be challenged. His creations melded innovation, artistic sensibility and a strong connection with the environment.
Astuguevieille met Kawakubo in 1991 to collaborate on showcasing his sculptures in the Comme des Garçons Aoyama store in Tokyo. That’s when he became the brand’s creative director for fragrance. Their first perfume came out three years later.
The artist, who worked between Paris and Brittany, summed up his creations by saying: “All of my work is about creating new ways of experiencing the sense, whether it’s through smell or touch.”
