The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
This is a portrait composed in 2014 by Mathilde Bijaoui. Each fragrance in the house's series corresponds to a precise date, transforming personal records into something you wear. 24 Octobre 1985 marks a specific moment, not a mood or a trend, and the composition was built to match it. Bijaoui captures coolness with warmth underneath, restraint with just enough sweetness to keep things human. The rum and blackcurrant do that quiet work while mint and galbanum hold the temperature down, the green sharpness tempered by darker fruit underneath. Galbanum's bitter green edge gives the opening its snap, cut almost immediately by pear's softer sweetness and the menthol lift of mint.
Galbanum's bitter green edge softened by pear and blackcurrant sorbet, then grounded by ambrette's skin-like musk. The aquatic notes read like humidity on stone, a surface effect rather than a top-note shout. Cardamom sits at the hinge, warming the heart just enough to keep the composition from feeling like cologne. It's a structural choice that lets the freshness last longer than it normally would, because there's something edible holding it up.
The evolution
The opening hits fast: mint and grapefruit cut through with the sharp clarity of a cold drink, while bergamot adds a softer citrus cushion underneath. Rum shows up within the first few minutes, not as a boozy note but as warmth, like the memory of one on someone else's breath. After about 30 minutes, the top notes recede and the heart takes over. Pear arrives fleshy and cool. Blackcurrant sorbet adds a dark-fruit sweetness, not jammy, more like the inside of a sorbet before the sugar fully sets. Galbanum's green bitterness threads through everything, keeping the sweetness honest. Rose appears briefly, soft and dewy, then steps back. Around the two-hour mark, the aquatic quality lifts slightly, and the composition starts to feel less like a garden and more like skin after a swim. By hour three, the base settles: vetiver adds a dry, slightly smoky root quality, artemisia brings a gentle herbal bitterness, and ambrette warms everything into a clean musk.
Cultural impact
24 Octobre 1985 wears like a niche composition for someone who doesn't usually wear niche. People who try it tend to describe it in sensory terms, garden after rain, clean laundry, cool air, rather than in note-list shorthand, which suggests the composition succeeds at evoking a mood rather than displaying materials. It stays restrained in a category that often rewards excess, holding back where others push forward, and the result is something that reads as confident without being loud.
