Curious and childlike in spirit, yet discreet, like the house for which she serves as creative director of perfumery, Christine Nagel is pleased that we talk (and write) about her new fragrance for Hermès, A Garden Under the Sea, for we could spark in someone the desire to discover it. This places the responsibility in our hands to convey the impossible: an underwater synesthetic experience, the one she had in Tahiti, the dream made real of snorkeling among corals in the waters around the island of Taha’a.
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER. Do you enjoy answering interviews? Because Hermès is a house of few words…
CHRISTINE NAGEL. I enjoy talking about my perfumes, because I think it’s the last thing I can do for my creations. If I craft the most beautiful fragrance in the world but no one talks about it… it won’t come to light. And I believe what you write can awaken in someone the desire to smell it and to try it. So this is a moment when we share the experience with you, and that is incredibly rewarding for me. In other circumstances, I don’t necessarily derive pleasure from it. I fully share Hermès’ philosophy, a house that is very discreet, and I tend not to discuss topics that aren’t about my own creations.
CNT. Hermès doesn’t usually detail the ingredients or the creation process. Do you find it odd that you’re asked for that information, as if you had to explain the making of a poem?
CH. N. Not at all. And I think it’s truly important, in fact, because I have a responsibility. Within a perfume bottle I must encapsulate all the values of Hermès, because perfume is one of the entry points to the house. For people who watch fashion shows or appreciate the brand’s objects, which are sometimes unattainable, the perfume can be that doorway. My responsibility is to integrate all the values into the perfume: the high standards, meticulous attention to detail, the exceptional quality of the materials. It is not said often enough: in the case of leather goods, of the hundred hides Hermès processes, only five are kept, which demonstrates how high the standards are, and they are the same for our perfumes. I’m fortunate to be completely free and to be able to tell stories that move me personally.
