MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS
Two enigmatic names, fragments of universes belonging to the same galaxy and telling in wakes the inspirations of an artistic encounter between two young creators. One is a perfumer, the other a fashion designer. Quentin Bisch and Marc-Antoine Barrois met in 2015 and immediately created an extraordinary creative partnership. Childhood memories, shared values and the same love for beautiful materials as well as the respect for a certain sobriety have brought them together around the challenge of defining and redefining new and timeless elegance(s). B683 was born in 2016. The name is inspired by the asteroid of the Little Prince by Saint Exupery and by the birth date of the couturier who made it his own imaginary planet. It is a fragrance that blends leather and spice in a subtle, powerful and distinguished refinement. Ganymede was launched in 2019, it is still a leather-based perfume but just like the planet whose name it bears, it is a new elegance, which is fresh and mineral, just as timeless.
Ganymede
The perfume of an oneiric reality For this new opus, the duo has not changed, nor the creative osmosis between Marc-Antoine Barrois and Quentin Bisch, but the destination is elsewhere. Creating an elegant and unexpected harmony around a quartet of mandarin, violet, immortelle and suede, the two fellow artists have dreamt of this new planet: Ganymede, the rocky satellite of Jupiter discovered in 1610 by Galileo, is both luminous and covered with salt-water oceans. It acquired its name from Greek mythology: a young man, Ganymede, was kidnapped by gods who had been so enthralled by his beauty that he was offered immortality.
Composed by perfumer Quentin Bisch, Ganymede once again makes use of the suede-leathery notes that had made B683 a beautiful classic. This time though, the artists emancipated from traditional codes to take us somewhere else, towards aluminous and fluid elegance. Those leather notes become softer, gaining lightness and gentleness in contact with the fragrance of violet. The mandarin smell brings its full vivacity and its acidic essence. The latter gives the tone and verticality of the fragrance from the very start. Yet opposing it, the immortelle is its counterpoint and raises the scented harmony with its double-sided fragrance, at times mineral, at other times salty. The entire composition plays with contrasts and oppositions.
The notes answer one another in a permanent conversation drawing a new olfactory map on the skin, on the revers of a cashmere jacket, or even right there, next to the buttons of the sleeves, on the wrist. If it could be summed up into one single image, it would be a compass : north for the zested liveliness of the mandarin to which the south would answer with the everlasting flower and to highlight this olfactory frame, the density of suede notes on the west would balance the subtle and delicate florality of the violet on the east. Those are four directions for a perfumed journey to a new imaginary world and new codes of elegance.
The notes of this eau de parfum are, at the top: Mandarina from Italy essence heart Orpur, safran; at the heart: violet, Chinese osmanthus absolute Orpur; at the base Akigalawood and Immortelle absolute.
Available in 30 ml and 100 ml Eau de Parfum.
Unpacking
Unwrapping Ganymede by Marc-Antoine Barrois, Eau de Parfum 100 ml
B638
A perfume like a heady sobriety. Ten years after commencing Haute Couture, French couturier, Marc-Antoine Barrois is launching his first perfume: B683. Building on the timeless and charismatic elegance of his mentors, with this perfume he reveals his most beautiful souvenirs as well as his world of contemporary designs. Ultimately, B683 is an invitation to explore…to travel on his planet where bespoke unique pieces collections, jewels and accessories meet a genius symbiosis of poetry and dreams with arts and crafts. Subtly combining refined woody essences, sensual spicy notes and heady smell of leather, avant-garde perfumer Quentin Bisch is signing a perfume both heady and sober modelled on the fantasy universe of the designer.
B683 is a result of the meeting of two young designers. One is a couturier, the other a perfumer. Their childhood memories brought them together. Remembering captivating smells; of the leather from an elegant attaché case or an immaculate desk blotter; of the distinct smells of wood during the regular gathering of fuel to warm the family home. The artistic skills of the former and the olfactory talent of the latter together sparked a magical and pleasant fragrance with its notes of spices, leather and wood.
The notes of this eau de parfum are, at the top: saffron, black pepper, chili and nutmeg, at the heart: violet leaf, musk, cistus absolute, Moheli vanilla tincture and amber; at the base santal wood, patchouli, ambroxan and oak mousse.
« I like the raw and yet so chic aspect of the perfume: a very refined and wild fragrance.» , - Quentin Bisch, perfumer.
Available in 30 ml and 100 ml Eau de Parfum, 50 ml Extrait de Parfum.
Unpacking
Unwrapping B683 by Marc-Antoine Barrois, Eau de Parfum 100 ml
CANDLE N°6
To fill the whole Maison de Couture MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS, located at N°6 rue de Budapest in Paris, with the smell of authenticity and refinement, perfumer Quentin Bisch immersed himself in the universe of the couturier once more. That way he worked around the same leathery, woody and spicy frame, adding up amber scents and smoothing it with smoky notes to create a scented candle which shows his taste for refined materials. This candle has this generous complexity of woven leather warming up to the heat of balms, a signature where patchouli takes on the sensual finery of amber to enhance the muted appeal of MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS’s boutique. A leathery atmosphere, that is at the same time thick and enveloping, and made even by the golden lights of cistus-labdanum. A comfortable scent, that is shimmering and twisted with the spicy notes of cumin and saffron. There is also a fruity hint, tasting like peach and plum which lights up this harmony of amber and wood in which sandalwood and patchouli scents unite.
After a perfume, a candle is a way of living a smell daily: entering a room, closing your eyes and slowly inhaling it for the enjoyment. With this candle N°6, as the number 6 rue de Budapest in Paris, Marc-Antoine Barrois wished to fill his Maison de Couture with the olfactivory memories of his childhood… Memories of a large house where the elegance of his grandfather prevailed in the smell of leather smell from a precious attaché-case or other bags. The warm atmosphere of an afternoon spent with his family in the living room, beside the fireplace, with here and there some delicate scents came out of the kitchen where an afternoon snack was being prepared...
Primary note: plum, cumin
Heart note: cistus absolute
Base note: leather, sandalwood, patchouli, white musks
CANDLE N°6
Scented Candle 220g
MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS
Marc-Antoine Barrois is a French couturier born from a northern French family who had made name for themselves in the textile industry. From a very early age he was fascinated by his grandfather’s elegance that drove him to seek the art of simple luxury without ostentation but assuredly with finesse. After learning patterns, cutting and sewing as he was studying textile engineering, he designed his first collection in Lille in 2006. This success then led Marc-Antoine Barrois to work with Dominique Sirop, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Jean-Claude Jitrois before creating his own Maison de Couture for men. Offering men what women have already in Haute Couture, Marc-Antoine Barrois designs unique suits, tuxedos and jackets for confidential clients seeking exclusivity.
The first MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS boutique opened in 2013 on rue de Budapest in Paris and offers Parisian crafted collections of jewels and accessories alongside his bespoke clothing. As a result of the heart of the creative process, he defines his world as a new constellation offering handcrafted luxury in a place where service and a warm-spirit are prevailing.
QUENTIN BISCH
Quentin Bisch had a revelation that perfumes were going to be part of his life, when smelling Opium on his school teacher, at the age of 11. But his artistic and creative itinerary first started with music and theater. He lead for 5 years a theatrical group of professionals. When composing music, Quentin soon realized he was not using his meant-to-be instrument. He left everything behind and moved to Grasse to learn perfumery. A year later Jean Guichard recognized his inner talent and integrates him to the Perfumery School at Givaudan. In 2011, he finally joined the creative team of Givaudan Fine Fragrance in Paris, as a perfumer.
From then he has created many perfumes among which Angel Muse and A*Men Ultra Zest for Mugler, Azzaro pour Homme FreeLight, Missoni de Missoni, Ambre Impérial for Van Cleef & Arpels, La Fin du Monde for Etat Libre d’Orange, Essencia and 7 for Loewe Sport, Fleur Narcotique for Ex Nihilo... Quentin Bisch, likes more than anything to « create emotion, surprise, take people to journeys ».
AWARDS
In these extraordinary times, we are proud to share our news with you: In 2020, the Fragrance Foundation U.K. awarded the “Extraordinary Perfume” prize to Ganymede, one of several hundred international perfumes created in 2019 by prestigious companies.
In recognition of the exceptional work of perfumer Quentin Bisch for the House of Marc-Antoine Barrois, the jury of experts from the Fragrance Foundation France also awarded him the prize for the best perfume from an independent niche brand.
