Arquiste Parfumeur, Carlos Huber Talks Historic Preservation In Fragrance and Architecture
WITH CARLOS HUBER
There aren't really implacable rules when it comes to design. But when you're Carlos Huber, a seasoned perfumer and architect, you're set to dig a little bit further.
Photography, Frederic Georges
Words, Benjamin Schmidt In Conversation with Carlos Huber
VIEW GALLERY
When Carlos Huber is passionate about something, it’s very evident. He speaks faster and he talks through vivid examples and a nearly socratic method of questioning, whether he realizes it or not. He throws you into scenarios without notice, but you’re right there with him all the while. He corrects himself, backtracks, and reconsiders in real time. But, I realized, this is fundamentally how Carlos Huber thinks about design as a whole, whether he’s working on a interior design project that requires careful attention to legacy or a crash course through the history of patchouli, which will inform a new fragrance.
Carlos Huber is the architect’s architect - a lover of history and preservation in all of its available forms. It’s evidenced by studies at Columbia’s School of Architecture, his innovative fragrance company ARQUISTE (currently the signature scent of St. Regis Hotels, no less), and his interior design work.
In this interview, we talk to a designer who is challenged and inspired by legacy as much as he is challenged and inspired by the future. He is a true celebrant of the total experience, from the place and situation to the things that could be.
challenges also create creativity.
From the architects to the designers that Huber reveres, this conversation explores everything from the challenges of running an online business to the thought process of starting a new project.
THE LOOK
Suit, Institchu; His Own Custom Jewelry
BO: It’s good to finally connect with you. Thanks so much for taking the moment. I’ll contextualize for you. I just joined BOND OFFICIAL as an editor. So, I’m just getting into the swing of things. You were on set with our team recently. Can you tell me about that a little bit? How did you enjoy it? What was the concept for it?
CH: They were so much fun. Igee and Marcus and everyone was amazing. The photographer, the stylist, everyone was really nice. It was really fun. I liked the styling and the fashion that they chose. It was a nice meeting point between their styling and also something that I could make my own and feel comfortable in.
BO: I saw a couple of selects and I feel that you like to smile. There’s a sense of joy there.
CH: Yeah. Thank you. Marcus was saying, "you're good at smiling". I think with me, it's just easier to not take it too seriously and to be more casual and just have fun with it because at the end of the day, I'm there to have fun, you know?
BO: Sure. What’s your principal work right now? Are you working on the fragrance side of things?
CH: The fragrance company and development of the fragrances, the distribution and marketing. Honestly, every aspect of it has really been one to focus on. I recently finished renovating my apartment and that was something I was working on a lot in 2018 and 2019. Right now, I'm also promoting that work in order to be able to do more design work. I'm an architect at the end of the day and I do love interior design. I still do a lot of research in regards to historic preservation, which is my background too. But the fragrance is my everyday. It's my 9-5 pretty much.
THE LOOK
Turtleneck, H&M; Hat, Stylist Owned; Wrist Watch, Rolex
BO: One thing that really impresses me about Arquiste is that there’s this history section on every product page. Are those things that you saw as important points in history?
CH: That's completely me. I do everything from managing the website, to writing the descriptions, writing the marketing, and the emails that you get when you buy something. I'm developing the fragrance, researching the place and the time that we want to represent in that fragrance and then organizing the production and packaging. It really was sort of a project management job in a way, the biblography we add to each fragrance is the core of the brand in a sense. Even if you don't really read it, it's having to do with that legitimacy and accuracy and the attention to detail. That is the reason why I wanted to start ARQUISTE.
There are beautiful stories out there that I want to recreate and we actually do have the information to do that. You don't have to necessarily make it up. It's just about digging a little bit further. So now, it's important to me to have that because that's a way to maybe prove for example, like you were saying , "Oh, they're serious about it." It's not just about a little inspiration and going off with a concept, you know. It remains grounded in history. I was even talking to the director of the historic preservation program at Columbia, who was my thesis advisor at the time, and she's like, "you know, the stuff that you do with ARQUISTE is still historic preservation research." In a way, I'm still following that methodology.
It's just about digging a little bit further.
THE LOOK
Wool Sweater, Paul Stuart; Trousers, Alton Lane; Sneakers, BOSS
BO: So how do you synthesize with your enthusiasm for - and maybe we contextualize it within interior design or architecture - Your appreciation for history with, as you said during your shoot, you were just “having fun with it”. How does that come together for you? How do you know when it’s time to be serious?
CH: I think it's something you learn a little bit in your studies. Like, it's great to have fun and to be passionate about something, but there's a certain seriousness in execution that you need to have. It can't be sloppy even if you're having fun. It's a fun story for me to share and obviously what I do, I do it because it's fun. I didn't inherit a fragrance brand that I needed to continue in spite of what I wanted. I created this because this is a fun project to do, honestly. It has to be fun, but at the same time I have to be serious about how it's executed because otherwise nobody's going to take it seriously. Otherwise, it's just sort of a hobby, you know what I mean? It’s all a little bit of what I've learned - what I tried to emulate from some other people, what I've learned in my experience in work and in my studies at Uni, in architecture school at Columbia.
BO: On the whole, whats the most challenging part?
CH: The most challenging thing right now is the retail environment today. The way the world has evolved in retail and the way people buy and consume. The fact that online is such a responsibility now with social media, even if it's boutique or niche or local, it has to respond to the global audience and to a global "place". It puts a lot of pressure on smaller brands because of social media. An LVMH brand could spend the money on having somebody that creates stores 24/7 that has marketing campaigns being issued out in every medium possible. Online is a bit more of a democratic space. There’s way more pressure for boutique brands to perform at the same level and to be issuing the same kind of material that is overwhelming for a boutique brand because it's boutique, it doesn't have the bandwidth. So that's a little bit interesting.
BO: Right. Thank you.
CH: Sometimes with more traditional brick and mortar, the platform you were selling on kind of gave you a sense of place. You were like, "okay, you're here", you're not competing with a brand that's at Target, right? But today, when you open Instagram and you get bombarded with ads, you can't really differentiate as much between something costing $10 and something that costs a thousand. You get all of the paid ads together. It’s like wait, actually it's not the same - they shouldn't be, it won't be the same. People are not going to respond to these the same way obviously. You can buy stuff off of Instagram for $10, or for $20, that it's not as challenging, not that much of a problem. But you know, selling the same thing, especially fragrance through that kind of platform. It's a completely different story.
BO: Hmmn..
CH: So there's a lot of stuff that is challenging. And then, you know, obviously there's minutiae - the fact it's a boutique industry and it's very much like a gentleman's industry in the sense of, handshake agreements. So in a lot of times you have to be super, super organized about sending payments and receiving payments. Invoicing, making sure that everything is taken care of in every single way and that there's no problem. People take these things for granted.
BO: Do you find that administrative work or that the “practical implications of being in business” has interrupted or has affected your creativity?
CH: I like the way you asked that question. I don't think it has interrupted the creativity or diminished it. If anything, it can be frustrating, let's say. Sometimes, it's actually a scenario where you have a certain challenge and then you solve it and you get an amazing feeling from that too. I mean, it depends on the personalities. I'm definitely much more of a creative, "right side brain" person, you know? So, sometimes I like pushing myself to be more organized, to become a little bit of a better manager. It's a challenge that ultimately has a huge satisfaction. It needs to be created. Challenges also create creativity. It's not that they are necessarily a hindrance to them.
Not everything has to be about what is selling right now to the millennial generation
THE LOOK
Turtleneck, H&M; Tuxedo Trousers, Suit Supply
BO: About your involvement in architecture independent of ARQUISTE, I was wondering where your interest comes from? Do you have some icons or some people that you hold to high esteem that have influenced you?
CH: Hmm. I like architects that are layered, very complex, even if they're very contemporary - clean lines and stuff. They have to have a lot of layers. Carlo Scarpa is one of my favorites. I've always admired his designs and how minute everything can be from big parts - the building itself - to little detailing with some stairs or the hanging of a painting, or the presentation of a sculpture in a museum. Sort of like the shape of the doorway. I mean it's super beautiful. He designs the most beautiful steps. He just thought of the most incredible things.
I love Luis Barragán and what Ricardo Legorreta did in Mexico. With a very modern rationalist vocabulary, taking something very layered and very Mexican, very Spanish, very earthy and colorful. Actually for me, the most beautiful stuff about Barragán is not necessarily the color. I mean the color is amazing, but it's also the textures that he used. So I like a lot of texture in design and everything. I am completely passionate about historic architecture. I am a sucker for historic interior, too. So I really do love World of Interiors magazine for how fun, playful and relevant it is to historical interior and historical architecture. I love that kind of thing. I love going from maximalist woods, to you know, Jacques Garcia, and everything in between.
BO: If you’re starting a fresh project, a new prompt, a new brief - are there any rules? or do you have a routine that you go through to get yourself in the mode of creating?
CH: Whether it's a fragrance or an architectural design project, you need to be really rooted in the place that you're focusing on. The place, not only the city and the neighborhood that you're talking about. For example, I, you're talking about architecture, but also in fragrance, like the exact, geographical location and the setting where your story takes place, and so the more you focus on that and the more you focus on the things that the place is giving you. The essence, the details, the kind of language. For example, if you're renovating an apartment, you kind of need to see what the space is like: are there any moldings, there are no moldings whatsoever. What are the construction materials? Is it concrete beams, is it a loft space? Is it a warehouse space? You wouldn't go in and put a dental crown on a warehouse space with a concrete floor. I mean, it'd be interesting to do it, but if you're going to do it, then you need to do it with very clear intentions. That kind of stuff is important.
If you're talking about a convent in the 17th century, what would have been, what other construction materials, what would have smelled, the Cedar wood beams? Is it the stucco plaster walls? Is there incense? Is there a kitchen? Does a kitchen have specific recipes that you can research and emulate through your formula? I think the place is important and also the time. Are you going to restore it to its original condition as much as possible? Maybe research what type of moldings would have been in the interior. What type of layout is there? Are there any changes in the layout or if it's a fragrance, again, if you're talking about 1695 white type of cosmetics and what types of products are available there. Place and time are my framework, not limitations.
BO: I see. It’s very interesting that fragrance should be coming from this place of time and space. I do remember things and their sensations, although sometimes incidentally. For example, the smell of mint gum reminds me of an airplane. Right? I would always only chew gum when flying. My first serious relationship coincided with the time I had red wine for the first time and so I have this relationship. So for me, maybe its more, it’s spatial to some extent, but it’s also situational. I’m wondering if there are any mistakes to avoid or if you have ever made mistakes in your judgement and it was a disaster or you feel like it’s a disaster or weakness generally?
CH: I don't think it's a weakness but there is a point where you have to decide things. I either want this to resonate with a lot of people or I don't care. You also have to decide on the story you're going to represent. Whether it's in design or fragrance. Is it super esoteric? Is it going to be understood by yourself and just a handful of people or do you want a larger audience? I think it's just a decision to make. And I think there's no wrong answer. Like obviously, you can go ahead and create a fragrance that is super specific, or you can tell a story of something that is a little bit more universal without dumbing it down. So I think that's my challenge. Not everything has to be about what is selling right now to the millennial generation, but more like "Oh, this is what I think some other people are also into".
For example, I want to talk about the story of patchouli and how patchouli actually has this interesting connection to 19th century Bohemia and how it got to prostitutes and opium dens. It also has to do with the history of trade because of the way that fabrics would be shipped from India to Europe and how they would arrive smelling of patchouli. And so, patchouli became associated with these very expensive fabrics. And in the beginning they were very high end. And then as they became more affordable and less fashionable, that kind of trickled down to the lower classes. For example, prostitutes and Bohemians. And so it's kind of "Oh, it's a very specific kind of academic intellectual story". I wanted to make it fun too because at the end of the day, the interesting thing is just how something happened the way it happened. So I think in communicating the story is where you can make it more and more interesting and you can make it a little bit more universal. I mean it actually is a universal subject, but you can make it a little bit more interesting to get everyone's attention. For example, when I started promoting it, my original teaser of information was like, "how did patchouli become so naughty?" "Why is that patchouli so counter culture?" Because for people are the niche fragrance customer, they would find that a little bit more piquant, let's say.
BO: I see, well I am really impressed by your holistic view and how cohesive everything is.
CH: It needs to make sense for me, too.
