Michael Malul’s Hanan Malul on crafting an Esquire fragrance collection

Hanan, it’s great to connect. For anyone new to Michael Malul, could you talk us through what the company produces – and your wider brand values?
At Michael Malul, we strive for the mastery of fragrance. We aim to bring luxury, high quality fragrances to the masses without compromise. Because of our deep roots in retail, we do everything we can to help the small businesses and independent retailers who carry our products thrive by protecting our prices online – and working with them on a personal level to understand and assist with their unique needs.

You’ve just launched a collaboration with the Esquire brand. What made this IP appeal?
Esquire is an iconic brand with a rich history and an audience that loves fragrance. When the opportunity arose to collaborate with them on this collection, we were immediately inspired by how we could turn that iconic history into fragrances that appeal to the Esquire man.

I imagine there’s plenty of directions you could go in when looking to bring Esquire into fragrances. Can you talk us through how the creative process on the range started? What did those early conversations focus on?
The beginning of the development process was about digging into Esquire’s history. There are so many incredible and iconic stories and events throughout the brand’s 90-year history, it was tough to narrow down the focus. Ultimately, it came down to all of the impressive contributors throughout the decades – from novelists like F. Scott Fitzgerald and poets like E. E. cummings to key players in the new journalism movement like Gay Talese and its many notable editors-in-chief.

The names of the four initial scents are American Novelist, Modern Poet, New Journalist and Editor in Chief. Could you talk me through how some of the scents connect to these themes?
We knew we wanted these initial four scents to be distinct from each other so that every man can find himself in one or more, so we gave them clear personalities that fit well with different fragrance families.

Modern Poet is the dreamer – an innovative creative who doesn’t want to fit in. Because green fragrances evoke memory more potently than any other scent, it’s perfect for the creative who pulls from memories for inspiration.

“Spicy fragrances are elusive and hard to pin down, much like the Editor in Chief.”

The New Journalist is the charming connector – the type of person who wants to make everyone feel like they belong. Blue fragrances are known to be approachable and relatable, making it the perfect scent for this friendly guy.

The Editor in Chief is the bold leader – a beacon of wisdom and the centre of attention with a fondness for the highest quality. Spicy fragrances are elusive and hard to pin down, much like the Editor in Chief.

The American Novelist is the explorer – a fearless wanderer and free spirit who’s always travelling. This warm fragrance is inspired by the American Novelist’s travels – from clary sage in the Mediterranean to cedarwood in the Himalayas.

Terrific answer – and all makes perfect sense when you unpick them like that. If you ever need inspiration for a Tired Journalist scent, you have my number! Now, what’s involved in perfecting a scent? Is it as much a science as an art?
To get the perfect scent, we start with sending a brief to our fragrance house partners – that includes mood boards, personas and the type of fragrance we’re looking for. From there, we smell hundreds of submissions, narrowing them down to the ones we think have the most potential for the project and work with the fragrance houses on modifying them to get them exactly right.

“While fragrance is poetic, it’s also chemistry at its core.”

We also have many members of our team wear the fragrances to see how the scents react to different body chemistry, how they evolve over time and how long they last. It’s definitely as much a science as an art. While fragrance is poetic and allows wearers to express themselves, it’s also chemistry at its core.

What do you think has been the key to a successful collaboration between yourselves and Esquire?
The energy that has been brought to the project by the teams at Esquire, Michael Malul and IMG has been incredible. Everyone has been incredibly enthusiastic about the project from the start and in each phase of development and launch… We think that excitement is what led to an incredible outcome.

Looking ahead, are there more scents planned in this collection?
This is a multi-year collaboration, so more scents are coming in the future, but we can’t share any information on that yet. Stay tuned!

Will do! Are licensed scents something you’re generally interested in? Are there other types of brands you feel could thrive in fragrance?
We’re already working on another licensed fragrance collection that’s coming next year. Licensed scents are a fun way for our team to be able to think about how fragrance can tie into other brands, so we’ve been enjoying it and would certainly love to do more. We’d love to see more lifestyle brands getting into fragrance!

Before we start to wrap up, what fuels your creativity? What helps your team have ideas?
Our team finds so many creative ideas through collaboration. Bouncing ideas off of each other leads to our best outcomes. We also look for ideas in the unexpected and do a ton of research. For example, the sides of the Esquire bottles were inspired by the design of Hearst Tower in New York – where Esquire’s offices are located. The proportions from the base to the cut glass design are the same as the proportions of the building’s original six floors to the 40-story glass and steel tower that sits above it.

Brilliant detail! That’s great. One last question Hanan, how did you get started in this industry?
Fragrance is the heart and soul of Michael Malul – and I got my start in fragrance by owning several perfume stores in my pursuit of the American dream. From working with customers day in and day out, I gained an expert level understanding of what people are looking for in a fragrance. This insight led me to develop my own fragrances to be exclusively sold in my store. The fragrances became so popular that soon other stores were asking him to sell them. From there, Michael Malul was born.

Thanks again Hanan. And folks can check out the Esquire collection here.