Creative Director Claude Marchal of Parfums MDCI

Back in 1993-1994, after almost a decade working for a large company owning several international fragrance and cosmetic brands, I became frustrated by certain aspects of what was primarily a huge industry and business. I was not attracted whatsoever by skin-care and cosmetics, but fragrances appealed to me in that they did not rely on lies or some ridiculous claim, and real masterpieces still echoed amid the ocean of vulgarity  that modern perfumery had become.  Coming from my corporate background, the normal path was to associate the “concept” to an established house, with a famous name, (the best being at that time a renowned jewelry house …after all, two of my predecessors in the large company where I had formerly worked,  had done this with two prestigious houses located Place Vendôme in Paris). For the record, I almost succeeded with another host of Place Vendôme .  Almost ! This was a time of self-discovery, I learned that I did not belong to this sort of social circle, and decided it was better to do things my own way, even if it had to be alone.   But painful as it was, in the end it was a blessing in disguise.

 

Parfums MDCI The Flacon as Beauty

Something had to be- and could be done- to bring back what had been lost, perfume as a dream and fragrance as beauty.The idea was to give priority to perfumers, the real creators of fragrances on which large brands prospered, not unlike recognition should go to singers or musicians rather than to the company that publishes their work. At that time I was sort of a cut away from what was happening in France, and was not aware this idea was “in the air” and that others, Frederic Malle in particular, would pursue the same avenue. The other priority was flacons; at that time, almost every new fragrance came in simplistic, plain, industrial, bland bottles, the cough-syrup type being the norm.  When one recalled the marvels that Rene Lalique and others had created only a few decades ago, it was obvious a serious effort was required to propose something different, why not radically different, and if possible better. 

This is how I became the creative director of a fragrance brand (as well as the delivery man, the accountant, the producer, the filler, the marketing manager, CEO, sales rep … you name it: o))

The Signature Italian Rennaisance Styled Masculine and Feminine Bust flacons of Parfums MDCI

 I was born in Alexandria, Egypt, where from 1948- 1956 my father was the principal of the French Lycée. My parents brought many antiquities they found back to France a part of the collection of antiques they had gathered during their years in Egypt, and this collection became the source of my inspiration for what eventually became the bottles of the little MDCI brand.  A number of visits to the Louvre Museum, in particular to the Gallerie d’Apollon where a number of precious Italian objects of the collection Louis the XIV on display helped me to fine-tune the idea and find the right image, homage to the Italian Renaissance which clearly was a style that was very different from anything that had been done so far. 

Each Parfums MDCI bust are hand finished by Claude

I was well aware that I would be creating a sort of “unidentified perfumery object”, likely to surprise, perhaps “turn off observers”, (but so what, and the challenge was exciting). It took years of work to go from a simple idea scribbled on a piece of paper and the first real bottle. First I had to leave Miami Beach where I lived, and return to France to find suppliers who would invest in such a small scale project.  The process has been long, difficult, painful, costly, frustrating but in 2003 I had something to show; crystal bottles with crystal stoppers.  After several years I introduced hard-china versions, made one by one in our living room, before creating our current flacon, the special resin presentations, that I still finish one by one.

Master Perfumer Pierre Bourdon created the first Parfums MDCI fragrance in 2006 relased in 20017 as Ambre Topkapi

In the meantime I had searched for perfumers who would agree to create fragrances to go with the bottle (at that time I had only one type, with the masculine figurine), and by luck I had the privilege to meet Master Perfumer  Pierre Bourdon  who gracefully accepted to compose a fragrance that would fit my artistic concept . My only involvement in the creative aspect was to say to M. Bourdon “please do as you want, as you feel, no accountant is going to interfere and ask for a lower price or cheaper ingredients”.  M. Bourdon had sent me a number of samples, I immediately liked one in particular, he fine-tuned it this is how the first (masculine) fragrance  of my still unnamed brand  was born in  2001, referred to between us as  “reference PB 2241”, later renamed  Ambre Topkapi, still selling strong 14 years later. I  never felt qualified to tell M. Bourdon anything other than to say "thank you”.

Claude Marchal (he is shy about this photo)

Names are a big issue. The unusual MDCI name was a sort of internal code name, meaning Marchal Dessin et Création Indépendants. As it sounded a little like Medici, the ultimate symbol of the Italian Renaissance, I simply kept it. A strange name but at least, it was mine.

 Master Kurkdjian composed the first feminine fragrance for Parfums MDCI Enlèvement au Sérail. 

The other decisive encounter was with Master Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. The masculine figurine had produced a favorable impression, so I knew the concept could fly. I desperately needed a feminine fragrance for the feminine figurine I had painstakingly sculpted by hand (this was before digital technology became as affordable and efficient as today).  It was 2004 or 2005… I stumbled one day on an article on Francis Kurkdjian in a weekly magazine, where he talked of the bespoke fragrances he composed for special clients; incredibly enough his phone number was mentioned at the bottom of a page, so I picked the phone. He took my call in person (wow!), we clicked and met soon after; he agreed to create one feminine fragrance for me. I had expressed the idea of something reminiscent of a classic such as Edmond Roudnitska Femme de Rochas.

 Francis came up with what became the gorgeous (and now defunct, thank you IFRA), Enlèvement au Sérail. But that day at Takasago where he had his office (Francis is a perfumer of a special breed as he works for established big labs and had already developed a parallel career as independent perfumer) he also had two other little gems for me. I just could not resist, the two other fragrances became Promesse de l’aube and Rose de Siwa , for me one of the finest roses on the market.

Stephanie Bakouche was just a student when she submitted Invasiavasio

Another break was the encounter with Stéphanie Bakhouche . I participated in a special trade show for perfume bottle collectors, at the Lutetia hôtel in Paris. I had a dozen crystal flacons to sell, and on the side, to increase chances to pay for the show, the four fragrances I had at that time, sold in ugly aluminum containers.  A young woman came to me, left and came back asking if I would allow her to create for me.  Very surprised, I frankly told her that I was a nobody, did not had the kind of money one would suppose, and that she better go contact someone else. She insisted, and later sent me several samples of fragrances she had composed; one of them in particular attracted my attention. I tested it on my friends, on two of my former bosses; the friends liked it, the ex-bosses and fragrance pros told me that I would go nowhere with this sort of scent.   Well, they were wrong.  The fragrance is Invasion Barbare   which for years is our number one masculine fragrance. 

As years passed, I became occasionally, according to circumstances, more involved in the creative process of fragrances, but I would never define myself as a perfumer. Roja Dove has been described as a curator of fragrances; I think the term is spot on.  My mission is to bring into the hands of fragrance lovers perfumes which would never have be brought to market under big commercial brands, similar to the way a publisher organizes the printing and marketing of  esoteric or self-published  books. We try to find talent, to encourage it and create the conditions for success. My only true gift  is that I can spot a promising fragrance when I smell a sample, but apart from telling a great professional like Bertrand Duchaufour that I would perhaps like a little more of this, a little less of that, or something a little more like that, my role is limited.

La Belle Helene composed by Bertrand Duchaufour

Bertrand Duchaufour has simply been brilliant, I can’t’ thank him enough for giving me the privilege of having in my collection fragrances like La Belle Hélène and Chypre Palatin .

Master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour

This is how we met. I paid him numerous visits in the small lab he had on the top floor of the boutique of L’Artisan Parfumeur, a marvelous place in one of the loveliest areas of Paris. This place would drive any fragrance lover crazy, samples of rare ingredients everywhere, drawers full of mysterious blends for no less mysterious clients, big or small; spending time there was a real a delight !

Madame Patricia de Nicolai composed Un Couer en Mai and one of the hidden gems of the line Le Rivage des Syrtes

I met Patricia de Nicolai thanks to M. Jean Kerléo, whom I don’t have to introduce here as she is known worldwide. M. Kerléo gracefully invited me to meet with him at the Osmothèque in Versailles, saw what I was trying to do, and directed me towards Mme de Nicolaï  who no less gracefully listened to me, and after a few months delivered two fragrances created for me Un Coeur en Mai  and  Le Rivage des Syrtes .

Jeanne-Marie Faugier

For  Vêpres Siciliennes , things were different : I really got involved in the creating process, until  the fragrances were exactly  what I wanted ; Jeanne-Marie Faugier, (then with  Technicoflor), played the game with an infinite grace and patience and after several … months delivered a complex and elegant fragrance, still one of our most popular scents.

Perfumer Amandine Marie 

As years passed, I became more able to put words on what I was looking for. It made things much easier when dealing with a big fragrance house such as Robertet, and led to two fragrances that I absolutely love,   Péché Cardinal  by Amandine Marie and Cuir Garamante . What became Péché Cardinal  was a jewel in the rough when I smelled the first sample, but obviously there was something special here.

Richard Ibanez

As with Richard Ibanez's  Cuir Garamante , after several month of tests and wait, it took only minor adjustments to reach what I felt was to me the ideal formulation.

The process can be quick or slow, depending on perfumers, their mood or circumstances. Perfumers are not machines, talent stays, but inspiration can come and go, masterpieces cannot be chain-produced. Luck and timing play a great role.

Cécile Zarokian was the first to been featured in CaFleureBon's Young Perfumer's series

My latest collaborations have been with Cécile Zarokian  an were extremely satisfying as she understands the Parfums MDCi emphasis on quality and perfume as stories on skin. She shows great sensitivity to what I am looking for,  and has extraordinary ability to translate my requests into a formula. She did it twice already, with Nuit Andalouse , the second time with Cio Cio San created on the basis of a  complex brief (Editor’s Note: Claude wrote to me, “Michelyn I am very happy with our collaboration with Cécile, To my delight she has answered with talent and accuracy the unusual and difficult brief given last year: a fragrance that would evoke Japan  Her creation met my request perfectly, and I immediately fell in love with what became Cio Cio San, an occidental vision of an imaginary Japan.  About the name, “Cio Cio San comes directly from Madame Butterfly, Puccini’s opera). Both fragrances are exactly what I expected, and better.

At the same time I receive lots of samples from different perfumers. It is difficult, as I have to reject 99%¨ (the only and best counter-example being Stéphanie Bakhouche’s Invasion Barbare). Far be it for me to posture myself as some kind of “fragrance expert “or “guru” (God forbid!) In the end, I chose fragrances, a few at a time, a small dozen after more than ten years and hundreds of samples tested, for one reason, they were exceptional and had the DNA of Parfums MDCI.

Display of Parfums MDCI  Osswald Zurich

 The fact that I am in contact with different perfumers and in a position where I can make my own choices led to a collection of fragrances with very different styles, but one thing in common … they are well-crafted and all are beautiful on the skin. A key factor in these choices is wearability.  I am not attracted whatsoever by promotional strategies meant to attract attention at all cost, and avoid outrageous, unwearable formulas and needlessly provocative names. With this brand, I did my best; I gave all I had to turn an idea into an honest and hopefully lovely experience for my customers.  That was the only plan, do my best, work hard, see where the dice fall and perhaps it would work.

The quest for the next fragrance is permanent: I try to add one, perhaps two every year or every other year, which is not too much considering how hard the whole process is.  A second feminine fragrance is in the pipe-line for this Fall, if all goes well!

Claude Marchal, Creative Director and Founder of Parfums MDCI

Parfums MDCI at Scent Bar the retail store in Los Angeles by Franco Wright and Adam Eastwood of Luckyscent

 Editor’s Note:  M. Marchal is a Creative Director who keeps artistic perfumery alive without regard to profits. In the USA, Luckyscent was the first to carry the brand and I discovered these olfactive gems, when I worked as their publicist.   Most beloved, was my flacon of Enlèvement au Sérail,  the sensual jasmine peach chypre, (which remarkably does evoke vintage Femme Rochas but in a very modern way).   Péché Cardinal  is one of my top ten most worn fragrances.  I am grateful that Claude shared his emotions and love for fragrance with us. He is a modest man and I hope that his story touches you deeply as it does me.

Here is the official timeline: Creative Director Claude Marchal launched this bijou of a House in 2006, but was officially Parfums MDCi in 2007, with Ambre Topkapi by master perfumer Pierre Bourdin.   Master Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian composed Enlèvement au Sérail, Promesse L’Aube and Rose de Siwa 2007,  Stephanie Bakouche Invasion Barbare 2007,   Master Perfumer  Patricia de Nicolai Le Rivage des Sertes and Un Couer de Mai 2009, Amandine Marie Peche Cardinal 2009,  Jean-Marie Faugier Vespres Siciliennes 2010, Master Perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, La Belle Helene 2011 and Chypre Palatin 2012,  Richard Ibanez Cuir Garamante 2013 and Rising Star Cécile Zarokian Nuit Andalouse 2013 and Cio Cio San 2015.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Claude Marchal  (who is currently at the TBWA in Cannes, we have a worldwide registered reader’s choice of any 75 ml of Parfums MDCI

or

A  customized discovery coffret of 8 x 12 ml.

You must be registered and you must use your user name or your entry is invalid. To be eligible, please leave a comment about what moved you, what you learned or a memorable quote from this article about Claude Marchal as a Creative Director, your choice of the fragrance from the above (with the exception of Enlèvement au Sérail which is discontinued)  that you would like to win and where you live. If you have a favorite Parfums MDCI perfume we would love for you to share that too!! If you choose the discovery coffret,  please list the eight you would like to win. Draw closes 10/25/2015

Check this out: If you purchase the set please note that Claude SUBTRACTS its cost from your next  purchase. When you buy the 75 ml flacon you receive a complimentary 5x 8ml set and if you buy the bust presentation the 8x12ml set is included.  

Increase your chances of winning by LIKING our Facebook page CaFleureBon Creative Directors in Perfumery; your comment will count twice. If you regram my instagram  @cafleurebon, your comment will also count twice.

 We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume