Page 105 - Sharp September 2023

“I find that our sense of smell, more than almost any other sense, bypasses the conscious mind and gets right to an emotion.”
A FRESH START
AUSTIN BUTLER ON THE POWER OF SCENT AND FRONTING YSL’S NEWEST FRAGRANCE
By Jeremy Freed
TODAY, ALMOST HALF A CENTURY SINCE SAINT LAURENT
bared all in his signature scent, the latest YSL fragrance invites a new generation to consider what it means to be ‘MYSLF.’ Inspired by the designer’s rich legacy, the eau de parfum’s name plays on the dichotomy of masculine and feminine — and puts the initials YSL at its heart.
MYSLF, the new fragrance from the house of Yves Saint Laurent, is the latest chapter in a story going back to the 1970s. After estab- lishing himself as one of the most influential and boundary-pushing fashion designers of the 20th century, Yves Saint Laurent turned his attention to the world of fragrance. In 1975 — accompanied by a campaign in Vogue France that featured the designer photographed in nothing but his trademark thick-framed spectacles — Yves Saint Laurent revealed his first-ever fragrance. Its success would set the brand on course to become one of the world’s most respected per- fumers, with countless hits, from Opium in the 1970s to modern classics like La Nuit de l’Homme and Y.
MYSLF is whimsical and provocative, like Yves Saint Laurent himself, and designed to be worn by men who are not bound by outdated modes of thinking and masculine clichés. One such man is Austin Butler, whose starring role in the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic Elvis earned him a Best Actor nomination at this year’s Academy Awards, transforming him into one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. With his high cheekbones, full lips, and a soft-yet-steely gaze, he seems made to be a muse. But there’s much more to this actor than a leading man’s good looks. Like Yves Saint Laurent, Butler is equal parts vulnerable and enigmatic, an artist who lives through his work and approaches the creative process with an all-consuming passion.
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He has a commanding presence on screen, where he is known to disappear into his characters — all the better to understand their thoughts and emotions. His magnetism on film is matched only by his uncanny poise on the red carpet, where Butler has already earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most stylish men. Despite all this, however, he remains open, approachable, and refreshingly circumspect, with the calm, cool, and laid-back demeanour of his Southern California roots.
“There are so many versions of ourselves,” Butler tells SHARP, with characteristic modesty. “For me, the time I most feel like myself is at home when I’m with my family, with friends, and my dog; around nature; or at the beach. I think it’s just about expressing yourself authentically, whatever that means for you.”
To achieve this complexity and depth, YSL worked with a trio of master perfumers to develop the new fragrance. “The great challenge was to create a scent that was very diffusive, but not aggressive,” says
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRAY SORRENTI AND GREG WILLIAMS.