Jean Laporte, pioneer of French perfumery​

Jean Laporte, chemist, botanist - and pioneer of French perfumery.​

The founder of L'Artisan Parfumeur, Jean Laporte, studied chemistry from a young age. With this empirical knowledge of the world around him, he was drawn to nature in general, and the plant world in particular. Building on this first passion with further botany studies, and, armed with two particular areas of interest, he very naturally, in the early 70s, turns his attention to perfumery.

At the time, with the exception of citrus, fruit was rarely part of the perfumers' vocabulary. By taking a serious look at the subject, he thus lay the foundations of a new style, giving birth a few months later to the resounding Mûre et Musc. Importantly, one of the very first times that white musk was used not in a supporting role, but as the main subject. An exercise that elevated the blackberry without distorting it, and gave red fruit its first grown up expression. In this way, Jean Laporte achieved his twofold objective of founding L'Artisan Parfumeur and at the same time making perfume history.​