Three questions for Alexandra Monet, perfumer of Velours Noir

You imagined Velours Noir for the Lempicka Paris collection, a creation that honors the legacy of Lolita Lempicka’s first iconic perfume while asserting its own identity. How did you approach this project? Which elements did you wish to preserve, and how did you modernize them?

For Velours Noir, I chose to approach licorice not as a simple gourmand facet, but as a material in its own right, endowed with a true presence and a strong personality. I wanted to reveal its most sophisticated dimension by working on its contours, texture, and depth. Anise brings it a vibrant radiance and aromatic tension, while iris softens its character with its powdery, velvety elegance. In the base, the woods extend this sensation of material and lend it an almost sculptural verticality. My secret ambition was to compose a perfume where one feels the texture—the olfactory touch—above all else, far more than just a simple gourmandise. What interested me particularly was starting from an accord deeply rooted in the House's history and the collective imagination to lead it into more couture territory. I wanted to preserve the emotion and memory associated with this iconic signature, while offering it a new expression that is more refined, denser, and more contemporary. I love the idea of creating a dialogue between heritage and modernity: respecting what has made an impression while bringing a new perspective. With Velours Noir, I sought to reveal a licorice that is more multifaceted, more textured, and almost tactile, whose elegance is expressed through simplicity rather than demonstration. An interpretation that is both faithful to the DNA of Lempicka Paris and resolutely part of its evolution.

Art, fashion, and synesthesia are integral to the Lempicka universe. If you had to associate Velours Noir with another work of art that moves you, which would it be?

Velours Noir makes me think of a Calder mobile suspended in space. Each material occupies its place with precision: anise provides the momentum, iris the softness, and woods the anchorage. None truly dominates the others. They respond to one another, attract each other, and shift in a subtle balance that is constantly evolving on the skin. As with Calder, lightness is never simple; it is the result of an extremely mastered construction. It is this impression of movement, grace, and balance between strength and delicacy that I wished to infuse into Velours Noir.  

Nearly thirty years after the birth of the first Lempicka perfume, what does it mean to you to contribute to this new chapter of the house?

Contributing to a new chapter of Lempicka Paris, nearly thirty years after the creation of the first perfume, is both an honor and a responsibility. Few houses possess such a singular universe, one capable of traversing time while retaining this power of evocation and an immediately recognizable identity. I love the idea that perfumery is a permanent dialogue between heritage and creation. Each generation brings a new perspective and a different sensibility, without ever denying what has been the strength of the House. It is this balance that I sought to achieve with Velours Noir: to rediscover the spirit of audacity, sensuality, and sophistication inherent to Lempicka Paris, while giving it a contemporary expression.