PARIS — Rabanne is traversing a period of change, with a recently minted president, departing fashion designer — and a new edition of its blockbuster 1 Million fragrance.

Renaud de Lesquen, president of Rabanne fashion and fragrance, outlined his strategy during the first interview he’s given since starting in the position at parent company Puig in April.

“It’s fantastic also to be back to my first love, which was beauty and fragrances, and to join such a creative and disruptive company,” said de Lesquen, who most recently served as chief executive officer of Givenchy. “Here, I am talking about Puig, but this is really embedded in the values of Rabanne itself. I couldn’t be in a better place.”

For him, brand priorities are clear and simple.

“I want to ensure that Rabanne remains one of the most disruptive and culturally influential houses in the world,” de Lesquen said. “It has since Paco Rabanne himself been at a house built on two very powerful ideas — rupture, on one side, and excess.”

He underlined that the designer never followed conventions and always challenged the rules of fashion.

“He was the first one to redefine creativity and to push culture forward in fashion with those 12 unwearable dresses, for example,” de Lesquen continued, referring to Rabanne’s unorthodox use of metal in couture. “This was very innovative, very unique, with this always [luxurious] avant-garde vision of building a future that would be a better world.”

For the namesake label, creativity should be fearless, emotional and larger than life, de Lesquen said. “So at Rabanne, we don’t believe in playing safe. We believe in creating surprise, a shock that excites desire and creates emotion,” he added. “It’s a spirit that feels incredibly relevant today.”

The current beauty market is very crowded, with a lot of noise, de Lesquen said. “Ultimately, what is important is brands that make you feel something different,” he explained. “We have to reinforce that for Rabanne and — to make it simple — make Rabanne impossible to ignore. This is one of my priorities.”

Being controversial is not a problem. Being forgettable is, according to de Lesquen.

To wit: On the fragrance front, Rabanne is gearing up to launch 1 Million Black, a new iteration of the brand’s bestselling 1 Million scent, first out in 2008.

“It’s one of the milestones of this industry,” de Lesquen said of the original, adding that it pushed the fragrance market’s boundaries (the bottle is in the shape of a gold bar, for instance) and redefined the codes of masculinity.

“It even was challenging the codes of luxury at the time, and the way fragrances were communicated [about],” de Lesquen said. “The idea behind the launch of Million Black is to reinforce what Million stands for, for the new generation, for the next generation. Because what is at stake for Rabanne is to continue to make the young generation of today dream, to create desire and to speak to them. This is exactly what Million Black is trying to do.”

Rabanne executives worked on 1 Million Black’s juice with the intention of it speaking to Gen Z, which might not be familiar with the original scent, although it has reached icon status. Its message at the time was that success is financial, but mores have changed today.

“It’s more about intensity,” de Lesquen said. “It’s more about living life to the fullest [through unforgettable experiences]. It’s not a material success.”

That was the brief given to Givaudan master perfumers Christophe Raynaud and Quentin Bisch, who created the scent with a combination of three accords. One has a tropical freshness.

“It’s quite unexpected and different from what we’ve done so far on the 1 Million franchise,” de Lesquen said. There is a trio of vanilla notes layered on a base of an ebony woods.

“It’s a woody fragrance, so sensual, opulent,” he explained, pointing out there’s an immediacy to the scent when it’s first sprayed on, but with a subtle, sexy dry-down. “It falls back in the Million category very nicely, but in a new way with a formula that is crafted and designed for 20 years later.”

Rabanne signed on model Thatcher Thornton to embody the new fragrance, which will be introduced globally starting Aug. 5 in Italy, followed by the U.K. and Germany on Aug. 10, and France and Spain on Aug. 14. The U.S. introduction is to be on Sept. 1.

“He’s very relatable,” de Lesquen said, describing Thornton also as “easy-going” and “authentic.”

“It’s an important launch for us, because we really want to build the two franchises — the historical Million and next to it, Million Black,” de Lesquen said.

He would not discuss sales expectations, but industry sources estimate the new scent could generate up to 50 percent of 1 Million’s business in the next three to five years. They believe Rabanne’s sales hit the 1-billion-euro mark in 2025.

The core business of 1 Million thus far is the original eau de toilette. The 1 Million franchise, Puig’s most successful, ranks in the top 10 of men’s fragrances worldwide, as does Rabanne’s Invictus franchise.

De Lesquen’s vision is long-term for Rabanne, which until recently had experienced some 15 years of strong growth in beauty, especially with its high-ranking men’s and women’s fragrances.

Over the past 18 months Rabanne has experienced a slowdown, however, with the business plateauing.

De Lesquen is focused on working on the brand’s main relevance and leadership in the men’s category, bringing back the founding designer’s innovative spirit.

“The best asset of this brand is that it operates on both sides of the luxury spectrum — beauty but also fashion,” de Lesquen said. “It has a very relevant, unique and singular position compared to its competitors and peers.”

He said there’s huge opportunity for a project where fashion and beauty work hand-in-hand, while supporting each other.

“In this journey, the role of fashion is to represent the North Star of desirability,” de Lesquen said. “More specifically, for Rabanne, the mission would be to make it very clear what we stand for in terms of femininity, and to represent a very powerful femininity.”

He will be working on that in the future, with the outcome expected to benefit the full spectrum of Rabanne products.

The brand launched into makeup in 2023, but industry sources say that it did not take off as planned.

“We have to fix a few things,” de Lesquen said, noting that is underway. “We are just at the beginning of this journey, but very excited to be a part of it, knowing that definitely makeup is a very obvious, visible bridge on which you can build from fashion to beauty.”

Rabanne is strong with fragrance in Europe and Latin America. It’s had successes in North America, too. In the U.S., 1 Million is in the solid top 10.

“Asia is still a land of opportunity,” de Lesquen said.

Meanwhile, geographically speaking, Rabanne fashion is highly France- and Europe-centric. The executive said he plans to give fashion the visibility it deserves.

As reported, it was revealed on June 24 that Rabanne’s creative director Julien Dossena was leaving the house, and that his successor “will be announced in due time.” It was understood Rabanne had already put out feelers to several potential successors, including Olivier Rousteing.

“We are closing an extraordinary 13-year chapter that we are immensely proud of,” de Lesquen said in a separate interview. “Under Julien Dossena’s creative direction, the house reestablished itself as a legitimate, lasting and influential force within Paris fashion, while remaining true to its singular identity and heritage.”

He reiterated the ambition is to keep nurturing Rabanne’s distinct identity, with its founding designer’s pioneering spirit that remains at the heart of the brand’s identity today.

“It translates into a complete wardrobe, including our much anticipated annual ‘beachwear’ collection, and of course our unique take on eveningwear with The Party collection — hitting stores in November; for accessories, the iconic 1969 bag remains a Rabanne favorite for all generations,” de Lesquen said. “It is instantly recognizable with its unique craftsmanship, material innovation and singular aesthetic language.

“In today’s luxury landscape, authenticity and singularity are invaluable assets,” he added. “At Rabanne, our focus is to continue leveraging these strengths, while making sure they remain at the center of the conversation with our clients.”

De Lesquen said, summing up in the prior discussion: “We want to surprise, provoke, inspire our clients. Ultimately, what we want to do is what Rabanne has always done best, which is not reflect culture but accelerate it.”