The launch of La Favorite signals a renewed focus on the women’s fragrance category as Jean Paul Gaultier’s beauty portfolio continues to expand.
Jean Paul Gaultier debuts new fragrance La Favorite, marking the house’s first major feminine fragrance since Scandal debuted a decade ago. The release is a significant milestone for the brand as it seeks to build a women’s fragrance franchise that matches the global success of Le Male. Arriving as Jean Paul Gaultier enters a new creative chapter, the inspiration draws primarily from French royal history and the house’s longstanding ties to cinema. The fragrance’s title, La Favorite, was once the title of the French king’s official mistress. It blends historical references with irreverent femininity that has defined the house for decades.
For Puig, the group that owns and operates the Jean Paul Gaultier brand, the fragrance launch reflects a broader business objective. Since Gaultier fragrances were integrated into the brand’s portfolio in 2016, Puig has increased the brand’s fragrance sales fivefold, driven largely by the momentum of Le Male. La Favorite is positioned to strengthen the women’s category, targeting a younger consumer while remaining rooted in the house’s recognizable codes.
Created by Givaudan perfumers Amélie Jacquin and Quentin Bisch, the scent’s foundation combines jasmine sambac and rose essence. There is also Queen of the Night flower, with notes of benzoin, ylang-ylang, cedar, tonka bean, vanilla, and white musk. The design of the bottle itself revisits the brand’s archives, reimagining the sculptural figure from Gaultier’s 1999 Fragile fragrance. Produced with a complex molding process, the design emphasizes the house’s values of craftsmanship while linking fragrance heritage to the current creative direction. The global rollout begins in Europe, launching in early August, with a projection of approximately €75 million in first-year retail sales.
La Favorite is more than a product launch–– it is the establishment of a new long-term fragrance pillar. During a time when prestige perfumes are one of luxury’s strongest growth categories, Jean Paul Gaultier pairs archival references with a contemporary creative vision to define the next generation of women’s fragrance consumers.