Michel Girard | Perfumer

Freshness, green materials and ideas gathered from everyday life

Michel Girard’s career at Givaudan has included major international fragrance projects, among them shared work on Paco Rabanne 1 Million and commissions for Cerruti and Lacoste.

In an interview about L’Homme Lacoste, he described the task of translating a brand’s values into scent. Rhubarb became a central subject, chosen for its green, sharp, acidic and bitter character and its ability to suggest freshness within a warmer composition.

Girard’s sources of inspiration are often close at hand: cooking, nature, travel and an unexpected combination of ingredients at home. He has spoken about a preference for green effects, including those made possible by synthetic materials, alongside an appreciation of jasmine, orange blossom and tuberose. His account shows a practical creative process in which a small sensory observation can become an idea, then develop through material selection and repeated balancing into a complete perfume.