Brand Interview: ÉLISIRE

If Hollywood wanted to depict the world of perfume, there is a man who might just fit the bill perfectly. Someone who has worked with (and for) some of the biggest brands in the world. Someone who has even created his own niche brand. Franck Salzwedel is an artist, the founder of ÉLISIRE and one of the creative minds behind iconic perfumes like Flowerbomb, Spicebomb, Armani perfumes and many more.

How it started

Franck grew up in Jakarta and spent many hours travelling around Asia, unconsciously leading him to perfume.

"I was always attracted to fragrance. When we would travel when I was young, there were all these duty-free shops in the airports. I was training my nose without even really knowing."

Franck's building fascination with fragrances didn't go unnoticed by his parents, and they bought Franck his first perfume. After four years of studying Business in Dijon, Franck moved to Paris to attend the French Fashion Institute. There he joined a generation which would go on to modernise fashion and fragrance like no others. "I met so many creative people with so many talents. And this was in the 90s with loads of brilliant people."

It was in Paris that Franck's passion for perfume blossomed. "Perfume plays a very big role for brands like Dior and Chanel etc. It is a huge income. So perfume has always been at the very centre of the fashion vision; it is a translation of the fashion world."

"How do we make a big splash, and how do we trigger desire?"

The first milestones

Franck found a home at L'Oréal and worked with some of the largest brands in the world. But one of the most significant moments came when he worked with Viktor & Rolf on Flowerbomb. "At L'Oréal we put lots of work into the media, big television stories and piles of products in the stores. But with them, we were thinking upside down. We said, "No tv, no big publicity media."

The questions remained; "how do we make a big splash, and how do we trigger desire?"

After hundreds of samples fell short, Franck finally found their bomb filled with desire. It was not only a successful launch for V&R but also planted a seed in Franck's head. He would return to work on Spicebomb.

The name came to me as we talked; ÉLISIRE."

ÉLISIRE

After spending some more time consulting with big-name brands, Franck longed for something else. "I felt it was time to affirm my vision and my taste for fragrance. But the thing started with painting." Franck's artworks are bold monochromes. At one of his shows, a perfumer friend said, 'your paintings smell.' At first, he took it literally but eventually, the concept became clearer.

One of Franck's friends started translating his yellow monochrome painting into fragrance. "Somehow, I didn't get it. I needed more time to figure it out. I went back to Bali. One day I had an epiphany." Under the sun, surrounded by good friends and cocktails, the idea started to make sense.

"Then I returned to NY and met my very good friend who is also an art director creative consultant and told her about my idea. She was perhaps more enthusiastic than me gasping "yes!" as soon as I told her. The name came to me as we talked; ÉLISIRE."

Then the real work began, formulating ÉLISIRE. "I like the colours and feeling from my childhood in Asia. Anything to do with Alchemy, geometric shapes, nature, yellow, orange, pinks and gold...The bottle had to be art deco and timeless. I wanted it to shine a bit like a diamond."

"I want this."

Soon enough, ÉLISIRE was ready for the shelves, and boxes sat of fragrances waited to fill them. "One day, you sit with all the products in your home and think; okay, what am I going to do with all these units."

"I went to see Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, and they loved it and asked 'when can we launch.' I said anytime. Three months later, I launched with them." Bergdorf was a big moment in the life of Franck and ÉLISIRE, but it was the approval of another that delivered the breakthrough moment.

After this, Sarah from Colette in Paris said: "I want this. And for me, that was a wow moment." After this seal of approval, ÉLISIRE found even more traction worldwide and has gone on to blossom into the brand it is today. Since the first Covid lockdown, Franck and Élisire have moved back to France, settling in southern Provence.

If Franck's story has piqued your interest, why not explore the Élisire collection on Parfumado? Try Ambre Nomade, Desired, Extrait Noir and Oderose now!