Clément Gavarry
Clement thinks of his creations as “a balance of heart and mind.” He is a perfectionist who prefers to focus intently on a project, often finding it hard to “let go” and finish his fragrances. “I love to truly get to know my formula. Only then can I find the best balance. We need time for trial and error – or plain luck! – in order to create the best fragrances.
For Clement Gavarry, perfumery is a birthright: he is the fourth generation to have lived immersed in the creation of fragrances. Born in Paris, he has fond memories of his visits to Grasse, such as planting a cherry tree in the family garden and watching it grow to produce delicious cherries that he picked every year with his mother. Clement's father, perfumer Max Gavarry, allowed him to enter the world of fragrances on his own "by relating to nature. In the south of France, I loved to smell fir balsam, immortelle, sweet and resinous eucalyptus. When I got off the plane in Nice, I knew I was home just by smelling it. He also recalls the summers he spent until the age of 14 near Bordeaux "in our little kingdom, a sailboat called Neroli", with the scent of the sea, the plant life and the warm, damp earth of the surroundings. What memories a perfumer makes.
At the age of fifteen, Clement began an annual summer internship in fragrance, enjoying "being a detective, finding clues and analysing ingredients" in the field of chromatography, his speciality at university. An early work experience in New York brought him an epiphany: he was to become a perfumer. He entered ISIPCA, the perfumery school in Versailles, and graduated with a master's degree and a diploma in organic chemistry.
He has lived in New York since the age of 20. "New York is my adopted home. The city is a great experiment: there is constant novelty, energy, an atmosphere that I love. I felt a sense of freedom and discovery from my first day here". His travels to Vietnam, Senegal and Kenya also inspired him; he realised that - no matter where you travel - nature is at the heart of everything.
Clement thinks of his creations as "a balance of heart and mind". He is a perfectionist who prefers to focus intensely on a project, and often finds it difficult to "let go" and finish his fragrances. "I love to really know my formula. Only then can I find the best balance. We need time for trial and error - or just luck! - to create the best fragrances. But the Firmenich palette (of ingredients) is incredible; it's so complete, with so much quality and uniqueness."
