Libre Eau de Parfum

The fiery advertisement for Libre by Yves Saint Laurent

When the house of Yves Saint Laurent offers a new feminine perfume, it is an event, both for its always singular perfumed composition and for its strong symbolism, generally driven by an emancipated, sensual, and elegant femininity. With its name alone, Libre therefore promises to live up to this avant-garde house, and its new fiery advertisement does nothing to make us believe otherwise.

Libre by Yves Saint Laurent between aesthetic elegance and symbolic flames

We enter the world of this Libre in the most original way possible, plunging from the very first images into the heart of flames. As the desert setting is swept up by fire, we discover in the distance a feminine silhouette, dressed entirely in black.

Then the drama, the flames, and the very intense rhythm of the music gradually give way to joy, and to a pop beat the Libre woman appears, both young and terribly elegant in her feminine Yves Saint Laurent suit.

As the camera films the young face of the Libre campaign in close-up against a burning background, we now see her from further and further away. Then a new shot highlights this LIBRE burning with fierce flames, and this young woman advancing toward us with a determined and resolute step, as if it were up to her alone to come and claim this famous freedom. To close this advertisement in style, we then see up close the couture Yves Saint Laurent bottle of Libre.

The fiery universe of Libre by Yves Saint Laurent

It appears that this Yves Saint Laurent campaign for Libre was filmed by the same person who created its visual, photographer and director Nabil Elderkin. And the least that can be said is that this campaign is as much a beautiful success in terms of image, very aesthetic, as it is in terms of its strong symbolism, deeply committed to the feminist cause.

Because, beyond this fiery setting, far removed from the usual worlds of luxury products yet very artistic, Yves Saint Laurent did not hesitate to have its new beautiful ambassador take part in this portrait of the modern, free woman by adding a song covered by the artist herself, I’m Free by the Rolling Stones. It is now clear that Libre is more free than ever to do as it pleases.

Dua Lipa, this ambassador of Libre who has never been afraid to speak her mind

Dua Lipa, this young 23-year-old artist who now embodies Libre by Yves Saint Laurent, is not only very beautiful and very popular for her music or her voice; she also undoubtedly embodies this generation of young women who fought to be recognized.

Because although Dua Lipa has today been rewarded many times over for her talent, nothing was simple for her, as an expatriate from Kosovo but also, and quite simply, as a woman. From these struggles, she managed to deliver a powerful testimony in the hit that made her a global star, New Rules.

Dua Lipa therefore seemed to be the ideal woman to carry high the values of this Libre by Yves Saint Laurent.

The masculine-feminine style at the heart of Libre by Yves Saint Laurent

Libre is not just the image of a modern and determined woman; it is also a bold perfumed composition created by Anne Flipo and Carlos Benaïm around a most singular duality, the meeting between the essence of usually masculine lavender and a typically feminine orange blossom.

A floral lavender. The tension between the burning sensuality of Moroccan orange blossom and the audacity of a French lavender revisited for women. Yves Saint Laurent for Libre.

The feminist commitment of this Libre by Yves Saint Laurent

Beyond this style so closely linked to the creative spirit of the late founder of the house of Yves Saint Laurent, Libre undoubtedly carries an even more universal message: feminine emancipation.

Whether through the choice of this beautiful ambassador Dua Lipa, who wonderfully embodies today's feminist struggles, through the use of lavender, primarily associated with masculine perfumes, or through its fiery advertisement in which the heroine seems to rival in determination and power, Libre is the perfume of this woman who seeks to be respected as such, of this woman who dares and who wins.

Would Libre then be the rightful heir to Opium and Rive Gauche?

Since its beginnings in haute couture, Yves Saint Laurent has always sought to carry high this feminine emancipation, which was only in its infancy in the 1960s, the decade of its first collections. In perfume too, the house of Yves Saint Laurent has always sought to create the image of a strong and independent woman who embraces her femininity through Opium or her elegant irreverence through Rive Gauche. Libre is therefore, without doubt, the perfumed heir of these sublime Yves Saint Laurent bottles.

Dua Lipa embodies Libre, the latest YSL perfume

This August 2019, the house of Yves Saint-Laurent presents a new perfume: Libre. Presented as a floral, sensual, and daring lavender, Libre symbolizes all the audacity of the women of our time. It encourages whoever wears this perfume to live with passion, without compromise and without limits. Presented in a jewel-like bottle, Libre reinvents the iconic scent of lavender, traditionally used in men's perfumes. This time, this Mediterranean plant is declined in a feminine version, while lighting up with a concentrated and sensual orange blossom. Naturally, the release of this new fragrance is also an occasion for the house to reveal the name of its new ambassador. This time, Yves Saint-Laurent has chosen Dua Lipa.

Who is Dua Lipa?

Dua Lipa is the name of the new ambassador of Yves Saint-Laurent, and is also one of the most famous singers of the moment, particularly among millennials. Born in the United Kingdom, Dua Lipa is of Albanian origin, a country her parents left in 1992 during the turmoil in the Balkans. Dua Lipa therefore grew up in northwest London, in a very modest family. When she was 11 years old, her parents decided to return to Kosovo. But the young teenager missed the British world terribly. Very insistent on returning to London, she came back to England when she was 15 years old. She then lived alone with a family friend, while taking classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. At the same time, Dua Lipa posted videos of herself on YouTube, covering her favorite hits in the hope of one day becoming a true artist. That is how she was discovered. In 2015, Dua Lipa signed her first contract with Warner Bros Records, which allowed her to record her first single, New Love. Since then, successes have followed one another. Her first album, released in June 2017, brings together 10 singles, 7 of which are among the top British sellers. In February 2018, Dua Lipa even won two Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist. More recently, in February 2019, Dua Lipa won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording for the single Electricity, at the 61st Grammy Awards. She is also the first female artist to have received five nominations in a single year at the Brit Awards.

Dua Lipa, a free woman, in the image of the new Yves Saint-Laurent perfume

If Dua Lipa was chosen by Yves Saint-Laurent to embody the image of the Libre perfume, it is not solely for her impressive track record. In reality, the young woman is in perfect harmony with the image of this new fragrance. For her, what matters above all is having confidence in oneself, being strong and powerful; being oneself without ever accepting compromise, acting as one wants, believing in what one wants, always being proud of what one does, and she feels that all these convictions align perfectly with the philosophy of the new Yves Saint-Laurent perfume.