Osmetheca: Christian Astuguevieille, creative director of Comme des Garçons Parfums

Quick answers

Who was Christian Astuguevieille

French artist and designer (1946-2026), creative director for fragrance at Comme des Garçons Parfums from the house’s first fragrance, in 1994, until his death.

What he brought to niche

The anti-perfume: conceptual compositions, incense, woods and abstract materials entrusted to guest noses.

House

Comme des Garçons Parfums, whose creation he led alongside Rei Kawakubo.

Notable creations

Comme des Garçons EDP (Mark Buxton, 1994), Avignon (Bertrand Duchaufour, 2002), Wonderwood (Antoine Lie, 2010).

Biography and career

Christian Astuguevieille was born in Paris (France) in 1946. Sensitive early to material and touch, he developed a tactile approach to the world that marked his whole body of work. An only child, he attended a Montessori school. After studying pedagogy at the École normale supérieure, he became artistic director of Parfums Molinard, then held the same role at Rochas for eleven years, and at Nina Ricci. In 1977, the Centre Pompidou invited him to design and lead an educational workshop for children. In 1980, he opened a jewelry boutique and workshop in the Galerie Vivienne, in Paris (France).

An artist above all, he became known for his rope-wrapped furniture and objects, drawn from the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi and the art of furoshiki. He worked with leather, raffia, straw, linen and hemp rope. His first furniture exhibition, at the Yves Gastou gallery in Paris in 1989, drew the attention of collectors and creators.

In 1991, he met the Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, founder of Comme des Garçons, in Tokyo (Japan), at the label’s Aoyama store. From that meeting came a long collaboration. He took over the olfactory creative direction of Comme des Garçons Parfums, whose first fragrance came out in 1994, and held the role until his death in Villejuif (France) on 13 February 2026, at the age of 79.

Creative direction

Astuguevieille’s direction became one with a strong idea, developed with Rei Kawakubo from 1994: the anti-perfume. Rather than seduce, the perfume was meant to surprise, sometimes unsettle, by exploring materials that classical perfumery avoided, from tar to religious incense, from mineral notes to raw woods.

True to his practice as an artist, he approached each perfume as a conceptual object, setting the intention before entrusting the writing to guest perfumers. Under his direction the house produced more than ninety compositions, among them the famous thematic series, including Series 3 Incense, devoted to the incenses of the world.

The anti-perfume: to surprise rather than seduce, handing guest noses the materials that classical perfumery avoided.

Key characteristics

Role

Creative director for fragrance, artist and designer

Concept

The anti-perfume, conceptual compositions

Register

Incense, raw woods, tar, mineral and abstract materials

Perfumers

Mark Buxton, Bertrand Duchaufour, Antoine Maisondieu, Antoine Lie

The house

Comme des Garçons Parfums is the fragrance arm of the Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons, founded by Rei Kawakubo. Christian Astuguevieille led its olfactory creation from the first fragrance, released in 1994, giving the brand an identity as an avant-garde perfumery.

Under his direction, and under Puig license since 2002, the house entrusted its fragrances to leading noses while keeping a rare conceptual coherence. After Christian Astuguevieille’s death in 2026, his imprint remains legible across the catalog, from the first eaux de parfum to the thematic series.

Notable perfumes

Under Christian Astuguevieille’s direction, the house’s fragrances were entrusted to several guest noses. The following are reference compositions, including Odeur 53 (1998) and Avignon (2002), which have their own entries on Osmetheca.

Year	Perfume	Perfumer	Accord
1994	Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum	Mark Buxton	Spicy woody incense
1998	Odeur 53	Martine Pallix and Anne-Sophie Chapuis	Floral
1999	CDG 2	Mark Buxton	Woody incense
2002	Avignon, Series 3 Incense	Bertrand Duchaufour	Religious incense
2002	Kyoto, Series 3 Incense	Bertrand Duchaufour	Japanese incense
2009	Daphne	Antoine Lie	Spicy floral
2010	Wonderwood	Antoine Lie	Concentrated woody
2016	Black Pepper	Antoine Maisondieu	Peppery spicy
2017	Concrete	Nicolas Beaulieu	Mineral woody

Frequently asked questions

Who was Christian Astuguevieille?01

Christian Astuguevieille, born in 1946 and who died in 2026, was a French artist, sculptor and designer. He led the olfactory creative direction of Comme des Garçons Parfums from the house’s first fragrance, in 1994, until his death.

Was Christian Astuguevieille a perfumer?02

No. He was the creative director for fragrance. He defined the concepts and entrusted the writing of the formulas to guest perfumers, including Mark Buxton, Bertrand Duchaufour and Antoine Maisondieu.

What was his role at Comme des Garçons?03

Alongside the designer Rei Kawakubo, he led the creation of the house’s fragrances, starting with the first, released in 1994. Together they developed an anti-perfume concept that marked contemporary perfumery.

What is the Comme des Garçons anti-perfume?04

It is the idea, set out from 1994, of breaking with the codes of the seductive, consensual perfume in favor of abstract, conceptual or unexpected materials: incense, tar, woods, mineral notes. The house’s first eau de parfum is its manifesto.

Which perfumers worked under his direction?05

Several leading noses, including Mark Buxton, author of the first eponymous fragrance in 1994, Bertrand Duchaufour, Antoine Maisondieu and Antoine Lie.

What are the notable creations of the house?06

Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum, signed by Mark Buxton in 1994, Avignon, the incense by Bertrand Duchaufour in 2002 in Series 3 Incense, and Wonderwood, the concentrated woody by Antoine Lie in 2010, are among the most notable fragrances.

When did Christian Astuguevieille die?07

On 13 February 2026, in Villejuif, France. He had led the olfactory creative direction of Comme des Garçons Parfums from the house’s first fragrance, released in 1994, shaping the direction of over ninety fragrances.

Did Christian Astuguevieille work for other houses?08

Yes. An artist and designer known for his rope-wrapped furniture and objects, he also served as creative director at Parfums Rochas and oversaw accessories at Nina Ricci, before Comme des Garçons.

When did Christian Astuguevieille meet Rei Kawakubo?09

In 1991, in Tokyo (Japan), at the Comme des Garçons store in Aoyama. Rei Kawakubo then asked him to help launch a perfume, and the first Comme des Garçons perfume came out in 1994.

What was his career before Comme des Garçons?10

He was artistic director of Parfums Molinard, then of Rochas for eleven years, and also worked for Nina Ricci. In 1977, he led a children’s workshop at the Centre Pompidou. In 1980, he opened a jewelry workshop in the Galerie Vivienne, then showed his furniture at Yves Gastou in 1989.

Sources

Published on 22 June 2026 · Updated on 4 November 2026 · Author: Sabrina Carlier · Osmetheca.