Perfume with the x-factor

It's shoes rather than scent that first fixate me when Jean-Paul Gaultier's emissary comes to town. Danny Ventura is wearing an amazing pair of low-profile lace-ups which graduate from black to petrol green at their chiselled toe.

I've seen sorry-looking knock-offs, but these are beautiful; a JPG twist on tradition that neatly sums up the couture house and indeed its perfume arm. Take something classic, then fashion it with craftsmanship and quirky creativity into a modern must-have that will stand the test of time.

Ventura's trip here is part of a whizz round the world to impart the latest chapter in the Gaultier fragrance story, ahead of the launch this month of Classique X. The name is reminiscent of burlesque, and indeed the fragrance is a bit of a tease, a contemporary remix of the 1994 original Classique designed to tempt new and old customers.

Ventura, a Paris-based Canadian, admits the extent to which perfumes underpin the profitability of prestige fashion houses is "huge". Gaultier's Classique and Le Male, which came out two years later, are undoubtedly among the most successful of launches, with sales still in the top tier globally. Their distinctive bottles, based on provocative female and male torsos, speak of fashion and desire and so reinforce the house's couture image. Gaultier likens fragrance to a layer of dress - "the first garment we put on".

Over the years, there have been lighter summer versions of both scents and striking metallic limited edition bottles, but nothing that so rejigs the juice as Classique X.

Why not just launch a new scent, as Gaultier did two years ago with Ma Dame, fronted by Agyness Deyn?

Ventura, who's here to translate the designer's vision and provide training for perfume distributor Beaute Prestige International, says Gaultier wanted to reintroduce Classique to today's woman, but retain its original ethos as a signature scent for a woman who was sure of herself, "somewhat of a seductress".

The woody oriental is now infused with sparkling citrus notes and vanilla. "Classique is so iconic, with Gaultier he has a deep respect for the Classique woman, he wanted to give her another option, but it stays within the family."

Gaultier spent 36 months perfecting the update compared with six-month turnarounds on some mass-produced modern scents. As with the original bottle, which he sketched on a table napkin, he was hands-on with its design. Classique X's look links to his winter 09 X-collection, with an X used to bisect the torso bottle in a tease-and-reveal reminiscent of the fishnet and lace and black and nude shades seen on the runway.

"X-rated can be really quite discreet."

Ventura says Gaultier's personal involvement with his perfumes and the way Classique X was developed in tandem with his fashions means "women are really buying a piece of the collection. When a gown is US$100,000, not many people can afford that."

The aim is to protect and promote the fragrances, given they're key to seeing the House of Gaultier (now just over 50 per cent owned by Hermes) continue to thrive, unlike the "heartbreaking" failed business of his old friend Christian Lacroix.

Gaultier, now 56, is still full of vitality and is looking at a children's line and a running shoe partnership, but "there's not going to be a home line," says Ventura.

* Classique X eau de toilette is in selected pharmacies and department stores now, priced from $136.