Back to Work Issue
Starting over is an opportunity to reject conventions and dogmas that have turn into habits. But to start over is also to build on past experiences in order to forge new paths. From this encounter between past and future, a paradox is born. And Paradoxe, Prada's new iconic essence.
Imagine arriving at work in the morning and receiving an email with the following sentence: "Your mission is to reinvent the company's path, creating a unique essence that will be remembered as a symbol of the brand for decades to come." It sounds like a colossal task. However, Nadège Le Garlantezec, Shyamala Maisondieu and Antoine Maisondieu achieved it perfectly. The three perfumers were given the challenge of creating Prada's new signature fragrance, echoing the brand's avant-garde DNA and reinventing its identity. From their collaboration Prada Paradoxe was born. “The starting point was an original idea from Nadège, who invited Shyamala and Antoine into the creation of the new signature for Prada”, they shared in an interview. “Nadège structured the woody ambery facet of Prada Paradoxe, offering the fragrance its powerful aura, and exceptional and intense vibration. Shyamala expressed her passion for enveloping notes, creating the ultra-addictive sensual dimension of the scent. And Antoine developed the bold florality of Prada Paradoxe with a timeless floral bouquet that creates a very diffusive and avant-gardist bloom.”
The result is a multidimensional experience, a contrast between sensuality and freshness, modernity and sophistication, fueled by the combination of powerful ingredients. As the perfumers emphasize, “beautiful Italian citruses – such as tangerine and bergamot – and neroli have strong olfactive characters. They bring bright and luminous colors to the fragrance, making it vibrate”. Although it is a flower widely used in modern perfumery, the presence of neroli in Prada Paradoxe is disruptive, thanks to its fusion with woody and amber ingredients that are typically reserved for masculine essences. In the words of the experts, this makes for a “contrast of the architectural woody structure and the floralcy of the white flower bouquet”. But that's not the only paradox behind the ingredients. In order to create a more sustainable perfume, Nadège Le Garlantezec, Shyamala Maisondieu and Antoine Maisondieu gave priority to natural elements and modernized them with cutting-edge technology. For example, the neroli oil was extracted from “steam distillation of freshly picked neroli buds” and the synthetic molecule Ambrofix, which is derived from sugar cane, comes from a complex process of bioconversion.
The sustainability of Prada Paradoxe also lies in its packaging. The famous triangle is refillable, resulting in a lower environmental impact. “The bottle was being designed at the same time as we were developing the scent”, the perfumers said. “We were very pleasantly surprised to see it was the Prada iconic triangle! With its three sides, it resonated perfectly with our three key ingredients – neroli, amber and musks – representing and emphasizing each of them.” From its subversive essence to its avant-garde packaging, Prada's new iconic perfume mirrors the brand's codes, ensuring its individuality. “The fundamental uniqueness of Prada Paradoxe is the fact that it explores multiple dimensions of scents and reconciles apparent opposites – and this is the essence of Prada. (…) It is a grand classique yet reinvented in a very modern and unexpected way.” Nadège Le Garlantezec, Shyamala Maisondieu, and Antoine Maisondieu can truly say: mission accomplished.
*Originally translated from The Coming Back Issue, published September 2023. Full credits and stories in the print issue.
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