On 19 March, Jean-Paul Gaultier's iconic masculine fragrance, Le Mâle, will be joined by a new flanker – Le Beau Mâle. The fragrance will be released in preview at Galeries Lafayette Haussman on 4 March.
Created by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who created the first iteration nearly two decades ago, it is a fresh version of the original, combining hot and cold notes of mint, absinthe, lavender, orange blossom, sage and musk.
The fragrance will cost €78 for 120ml and €55 for a 75ml EDT and will be joined by a 75g deodorant stick. The bottle plays a variation on the original by having the male torso clad in the usual sailor teeshirt, but in lighter shades of turquoise and white, while the outer packaging is the usual ribbed can. The face for the campaign will be US model Kaylan Falgoust, shown nude in a 50s-style shoot by Sølve Sundsbø.
"I departed from the brief I had 19 years ago," said Kurkdjian, who has produced numerous flankers for the original fragrance. "I kept the original structure and rollout of the accords, but stretched the note to the max."
Jean-Paul Gaultier Parfums makes 55 per cent of its turnover from its male fragrances, compared with 35 per cent for the average fragrance company. It has now produced 20 flankers and limited editions of Le Mâle, with the latest being 2012's Le Mâle Gladiator, featuring a breastplate on the torso.