Fragrance Entrepreneurs And Executives Reflect On The Indelible Impact Of Thierry Mugler’s Angel

To go with his statement clothes, Manfred Thierry Mugler, the French fashion designer who died Sunday at the age of 73 from natural causes, made statement fragrances.

Starting with Angel in 1992, a perfume evoking the decadent sweetness of fairground confections featuring the synthetic compound ethyl maltol that smells like, according to perfume critic Mark Behnke, “a cotton candy machine running at full throttle,” his fragrances separated the decade’s glamour from its grunge. Concocted by perfumers Oliver Cresp and Yves de Chirin, The Cut’s Kathleen Hou describes Angel as an “incredibly ‘extra’ fragrance” with “close to 27 notes” while most scents have under 10. (Coconut, cassis, melon, jasmine, bergamot, pineapple, mandarin orange and honey are just a few of the notes in Angel.)

Writing for The Fragrance Foundation, which placed Angel in the fragrance hall of fame in 2007, April Long says it “ushered in an era of gourmand scents, forever changing the landscape of the fragrance industry.” Not everyone enjoyed the changed landscape. For many consumers and fragrance aficionados, polarizing Angel is the perfume that draws the most ire.

On the opposite pole, Angel’s passionate fans sparked a Mugler fragrance dynasty. Under Clarins Groupe’s fragrance division and later as part of L’Oreal, the current orchestrator of the business, the Mugler fragrance franchise followed Angel with Alien, Angel Muse, Angel Nova, Alien Goddess and more. In its heyday, the Mugler perfume portfolio generated hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales. The products are still strong sellers at department and beauty specialty stores, and have been capturing a new generation of fragrance shoppers nostalgic for an exuberant age they didn’t experience.

With Mugler’s passing, we were getting a bit nostalgic for the unabashed spirt of Angel encapsulated by its memorable star-shaped bottle and transformative aroma, and invited fragrance entrepreneurs and executives to share their thoughts on the fragrance and its impact on the scent world.

Chris Collins, founder of World of Chris Collins

I remember buying my mother Thierry Mugler Angel when I was in college. She wore Angel for almost 25 years. She may still have a bottle on her vanity next to the ones I created. I wouldn’t blame her! Of all the fragrances I could’ve bought her, I can’t tell you why I chose Angel. It was so alluring that it mesmerized me.

At that time, I had no clue what a gourmand fragrance was. Honestly, I don’t think anyone knew because, Angel was the first of its kind. Thierry completely changed the way fragrance designers like myself create perfume.

I can honestly say that every single one of my fragrances has some sort of gourmand or edible feeling to it. The chocolate note in Angel inspired my Sweet Taboo fragrance. I owe that all to my first gourmand fragrance love almost 30 years ago. Thierry was a pioneer in the fragrance world. His legacy should be celebrated forever.

David Moltz, co-founder of D.S. & Durga

Love it or hate it, Angel is iconic. Though it feels strange to me to credit the brand/creative director rather than the actual perfumer, though, in this case, I surmise Mugler’s bold originality gelled well with the perfumers (Oliver Cresp and Yves de Chirin). It fused some traditional ideas about gender in fragrance on their head, which is always refreshing. But it also may be partly responsible for the proliferation of awful candy-floss gourmands that tried to recreate Angel’s magic only to clog mass market perfumeries with terrible dessert vibes.

Kavi Moltz, co-founder of D.S. & Durga

We are kids of the 90s and watching the George Michael video “Too Funky” directed by Mugler was an after school secret pleasure. His clothes and styling struck this forbidden, sci-fi, sexual, outrageous chord that was near to my goth heart, over the top and the pinnacle of glamour. Not everyone would or could wear his fashion, but you could buy into his world with Angel, which is exactly what enamors us about perfume.

Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street Fragrances

Manfred Thierry Mugler is one of the doyens in cult branding for fashion, fragrance and pop culture. Before my beauty life, I was in charge of launching Club USA in the 90s with a room designed by him. His fashion was never mainstream nor was the debut of Angel, a “niche” gourmand fragrance. He stayed true to his instincts when it was not an instant commercial success. To this day, Angel is a legendary scent and inspired the fragrance industry to cross creative boundaries.

Greta Fitz, founder of Ascention Beauty Co.

Thierry Mugler was a legend, an avant garde visionary. Angel was one of my first fragrances that I saved my babysitting money to buy. It was groundbreaking for many reasons. First, it was the first modern gourmand scent that ignited a cult following ’til this day.

Second, the intricate artistry of the bottle raised the bar in fragrance design. The brand was the first to ever offer refill experiences at the Fountain, where consumers would save their money by refilling their empty bottles and have them polished and cleaned as a luxurious offering, while saving the planet from bottles that would normally end up in landfills and oceans.

Many gourmand fragrance launches since have been inspired by Angel. Angel has often been copied, but it’s scent is distinctive and cannot be replicated. You just know when someone is wearing it.

Bettina O’Neill, SVP of Business Development, Merchandising and Wholesale at Scentbird

Thierry Mugler was a creative genius, always ahead of his time, whether in his avant garde fashion designs or in his fragrances. Angel, launched in 199, is still a top seller. It’s truly unique. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s a scent that is identifiable by everyone! The combination of praline, chocolate and patchouli created a whole new fragrance type called gourmand.

The launch strategy was also unique at the time, being highly exclusive and only handpicking certain stores if they met criteria. It was quite genius, creating a demand not only for customers, but for the retailers themselves. The world has lost a legend, but his Angel scent will live on forever.

Abby Wallach, co-founder of Sparti Scents

When I launched Beautiful Stranger.tv, one of the first digital media brands to connect content and commerce back in the early days of the internet, we would spot stylish strangers on the street to find out what they were using, loving and wearing. We would then provide a link to purchase for every product and service mentioned.

One of our top 10 questions was, what is your fragrance fave? Angel by Thierry Mugler was mentioned as a favorite probably because it was so cutting-edge as were the stylish strangers that we stopped on the street from around the world.

Franco Wright, co-founder of Luckyscent and Scent Bar

Arguably one of the most talked about (and worn) fragrances ever created, Angel was dramatic, grand and even groundbreaking, firmly rooting itself in the gourmand category. Ironically, it was anything but angelic—bold, with the volume on high, a “look at me” kind of fragrance with a silage trail that would last forever, a perfume true to the spirit of Thierry Mugler himself.

Ruth Sutcliffe Heagney, founder of The Scent Guru Group

Thierry Mugler was not only a iconic and trend setting fashion designer with his bold designs, but also a trendsetter for fragrance with the launches of the bold, trendsetting perfume Angel that, when it first hit the market, was a shock to the industry. Angel became an enigma in the industry just as he and his designs became enigmatic in the fashion business.

Years after Angel took the lead as a trending scent with its bold patchouli base and caramel nuances, he launched Alien and then Womanity, another daring fragrance “first” that used salty notes in its composition. Although Womanity may not be the big blockbuster that Angel has been, it was true to style of how Mr. Mugler dared to use polarizing and against-the-grain moves in his fashion and fragrance creations to shake things up. The world of fashion and fragrance need creators who dare to be different.