« 1 MILLION » GOLD, THE LEGEND :

« IN ALL CIVILISATIONS AND RELIGIONS, GOLD HAS ALWAYS SEDUCED MANKIND. » PACO RABANNE

Is gold the mirror of our ego? If that is the case, it has never been as flattered as in recent years. Architecture, design, fashion, magazine covers, gold is everywhere... In his efforts to transform nuggets into coins, jewellery and precious ingots, one day man noticed that no other metal in the world possessed such inalterable beauty. Men all over the world have made it a divine metal, giving it almost mystical power… that of eternal beauty. Even today, it has a bewitching power capable of sparking off fire… including that of envy!

Some 40 years ago, Paco Rabanne, a great lover of metal if ever there was one, came up with the idea of a dress made with 9 kilos of fine gold, inlaid at the collar with some 300 carats of diamonds. This dress - a pure folly - worn by singer Françoise Hardy, marked the beginning of a passionate story between gold and the designer couturier. « Gold is the symbol of power, royalty, something profoundly virile », asserts the designer who, now more than ever, and thanks to a new men’s fragrance, « 1 MILLION » returns to this world, his world. - FROM COUTURE TO PERFUME -

A great designer, an agitator of ideas, Paco Rabanne was one of the first to challenge preconceptions in the delicately cosy world of fragrances. Three years after the creation of the Rabanne fashion house, he launched two fragrances for women which completely revolutionised usual perfume habits: Calandre and Métal. How could anyone choose to name a fragrance for women after the word for a car bumper? In actual fact, Calandre was a reference to Calandros « The Man who wanted to be God’s equal ». As for men, in 1973 he concocted a new olfactory formula for them: a fougere note. This original and sensual sensation was called Paco Rabanne pour Homme and was an absolute triumph. Successes followed on from this - Ultraviolet, XS, Black XS… and people never tire of them, as each project, each adventure reflects the talent of the designer, always at the cutting edge of trends, always in the momentum. For Paco Rabanne, « 1 MILLION » is nothing less than the first number in a new way of thinking.

« 40 YEARS AGO, I ALREADY BELIEVED THAT BRINGING FRAGRANCES INTO THE WORLD OF COUTURE WAS LOGICAL AND COMPLEMENTARY. » PACO RABANNE - THE COMEBACK OF SEDUCTION -

It would indeed seem that by the stroke of a magic wand, everyone has found their rightful role… We are once more in a period when masculine identity is being reasserted. Consequently, we are experiencing (with unashamed pleasure) the big comeback of seduction. And seduction goes hand in hand with games, stories, fantasies and desires… a fertile terrain for the imagination… Today’s man returns to all his fantasies such as a taste for sparkling cars, the hunt for treasure and pretty girls... pleasures and desires, everything that shines and makes the head spin, flaunting and enjoying… It is with an undeniable sense of humour that he happily uses and abuses his charms to obtain everything he wants with one click of his fingers (without necessarily daring to ask...). So let’s be happy… the new man is here and he has a million things going for him!

« MAN HAS CHANGED. AFTER A PERIOD OF DOUBT, IT IS NECESSARY TO REASSERT ONE’S MASCULINITY. » PACO RABANNE

- THE BIRTH OF A BOTTLE -

It is often said that the power of an idea lies in its simplicity. The « 1 MILLION » bottle is the perfect illustration of this. « It could not be simpler or more eloquent with respect to the name and story of this fragrance », proclaimed Paco Rabanne when he discovered the project. The bottle which tells the story of fragrance, the story of its name… is, for Paco Rabanne, one of the keys to its success. Keeping things simple while telling the same story is sometimes the most difficult thing… Simple and breathtakingly beautiful, this project is by the bright new talent on the design scene, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, who is making waves with this, his first ever fragrance bottle. A trained sculptor, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance has tapped into the designer’s architectural and metallic world to reinterpret the gold ingot concept in his own way.

« THIS GENUINE DESIGN OBJECT ALSO RECALLS SQUARE OR RECTANGULAR DOMINOS WITH WHICH I USED TO MAKE MY FAMOUS DRESSES. » PACO RABANNE

- A FLAMBOYANT FRAGRANCE -

Imagining a fragrance is like launching into an adventure full of encounters, surprises, sharing and intuition. It is like moving forward without really knowing where it will take you. Each fragrance has a share of luck and mystery in its story. It is a mystery to no-one today that « 1 MILLION » with its very specific fragrance is very much part of the Rabanne family. « It’s a strange fragrance with good vibrations » comments Paco Rabanne. Christophe Raynaud, Olivier Pescheux and Michel Girard have composed « 1 MILLION » together as a piece of music…

« I LIKE MY FRAGRANCES TO BE FRESH FIRST, THEN STRUCTURED, FULL OF VIBRATIONS AND CONTRASTS. » PACO RABANNE

by Farouk CHEKOUFI