This year marks the 30th anniversary of Jean Paul Gautier’s Le Male, a perfume the writer and activist Adam Eli describes as “iconically gay.”
Therefore, to honor the moment, Eli brought eight queer artists together to create “Et Gaultier Créa L’Homme: Le Male—Past, Present, Future,” a one-night-only exhibition at New York City’s historic LGBT Center on Thursday. (The event followed an earlier celebration of the fragrance in Paris during Pride month.)
“The first perfume I bought with my own money was Fleur du Mâle, and I loved it so much,” says Oscar Nñ, who soundtracked the night. “I’d secretly read my sister’s Vogue issues, and I was always fascinated by the ads for Le Male.” The music was meant to mirror the original scent’s olfactive story: “It starts off slow and wavy, inspired by the original bottle of the perfume. With sweet notes and melodies, like pheromones, my set will feel like that first spray of perfume on your body, or the scent left by a lover. The music will be fresh, cool, and a little sweet—obviously ending with dancing and that feeling of that first plunge into the sea.”
Also involved with the celebration, the trio behind Spiral Theory Test Kitchen (STTK )—Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Quori Theodor, and Precious Okoyomon—created an edible installation based on the theme of modern masculinity. “Our culinary poem acts as windows into a psychosexual, sports-charged universe where the eroticism of masculinity is performed and released,” they explained. A panna cotta was “inspired by the notes of Le Male and also served in the can.”
Video artist Matias Alvial’s contribution to the exhibition speaks to a fragrance’s capacity to transport. “This film is an extension of my 35mm diary, where I’ve been documenting moments of my life and intimacy,” he says. “A scent can transport you back to a specific touch, a night, a person. For me, that connection between perfume and memory became the most natural way to celebrate Gaultier’s Le Male. At its heart, the piece holds the yearning that often exists in queer friendship—the beauty of bonds that deepen and transform, and the ache of people who drift away. Ephemeral, yet permanent. Much like memory. Much like scent.”
Other artworks took a more political tone, like a cheeky mural by Hugo Gyrl. “May my perky b-hole sailor remind you of the love and joy that queer and trans people hold within us, no matter the orange obstacle,” he says.
Photographer Hunter Abrams was also in attendance for Thursday’s celebration, creating a photography studio concept with fellow artist Sam Lee. “Our original vision was of the iconic Gaultier sailor pulling into the New York harbor,” the duo says of the moment. “We imagined the euphoria he would feel seeing land at last. What adventure awaited him? Where would he go and what hotties would he meet? We also imagined that he may have to hide some of his on-land exploits from his commanders, so we recontextualized his arrival without that fear, the Statue of Liberty greeting him… phallus-first!”
Eli summed up the evening, and the cultural moment, perfectly. “While tonight is about fashion, glamour, and Le Male, it is also about the power of New York’s queer movement that is fighting to create a safer and more beautiful world for our community,” they shared. “It was important that the artists selected and the pieces they created reflected that feeling.”
More from the fun, below.
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