EXCLUSIVE: A Conversation with Bond No. 9's Founder Laurice Rahme

For fragheads and all-around perfume lovers all over the world, the Bond No. 9 line of fragrances is no stranger to the list of top perfumes to covet. Available in most luxury department stores internationally, the brand's beautiful bottles always catch our attention—their opulence, unique shape, textures, colors, and the undeniable spirit of The Big Apple oozes from the shelves. It's truly a fragrance lover's dream perfume! So when we got the chance to interview the brand's Founder and CEO Laurice Rahme, we made sure to grab the opportunity! Read on and find out the inspiring story behind the inimitable brand.

Metro.Style: Please let us in on the main idea behind the brand Bond No. 9. What was the sole inspiration behind its creation and what makes it unique in this day and age?

Laurice Rahme: On September 11, 2001, this love affair became a true passion. That became the catalyst for me to make New York smell good again—and Bond No. 9 was born in 2003! I wanted to make the city smell good again and celebrate its Courage and Creativity by being courageous and creative. It was a big risk of course, but we had no fear, followed our intuition and our desire to be different. We began creating fragrances to celebrate the neighborhoods, the city’s unbreakable spirit, its energy and dynamism. And with this we created a totally new fragrance category: The Scent of a Place. And to our big surprise and excitement this launched a whole new category in the fragrance industry!

We began creating fragrances to celebrate the neighborhoods, the city’s unbreakable spirit, its energy and dynamism. And with this we created a totally new fragrance category: The Scent of a Place.

MS: Describe your process for creating scents within the Bond No. 9 brand.

LR: As with everything we do here at Bond No. 9, our packaging and communication is truly inspired by the neighborhoods of New York. Each neighborhood has its own character, its own beauty and idiosyncrasies and you could say that I feel what the neighborhood should feel and look like when I get an idea. Our packaging, communication, and fragrances celebrate exactly this uniqueness in each neighborhood, and it celebrates my incredible love affair with this city.

The way I work with the perfumers follows this overall philosophy: I give the neighborhood, the keynote, and sometimes a color or season to capture what I believe the essence of the project should be. Above and beyond that our team and our collaborators are free to bring their full creativity and inspiration into the process. Creating a superb fragrance is like a love story—it is a process of dialogue, shared vision, trust, and the collective desire to create something unique and spectacular.

MS: What are your most unique fragrances in the line and what kind of man/woman do you have in mind for each? 

LR: My approach to creating fragrances that appeal to a wide range of customers while maintaining a distinct identity for the brand is rooted in understanding and embracing the dynamic essence of New York City.

New Yorkers are constantly changing their style and we like to evolve with them!

The notes of each fragrance are normally categorized to the gender; for instance, florals are assigned to women, due to delicacy, and more woody notes for men. Today those genders lines are more and more blurred among new fragrances, since you can easily detect female fragrance ingredients in male fragrances and the other way around. New Yorkers are constantly changing their style and we like to evolve with them!

We create scents that appeal to a diverse range of individuals while maintaining the unique identity and spirit of Bond No. 9. This approach ensures that our fragrances resonate with the dynamic and inclusive nature of the city we proudly represent.

Bond No. 9 is available at Rustan's The Beauty Source and rustans.com