Rabanne’s Million Gold For Him and Her are an ode to fashion legacy and flamboyance

The flashing of golden lights synchronised to the electric beat of heart-pumping disco music. Perfectly tailored black suits glide across the dance floor with infectious, effortlessly cool moves befitting Studio 54. Glints of metallic chain mail and sparkling disc dresses glimmer on slinky physiques as spinning gold bars and resplendent diamond cut bottles dance in refracted light — all underscored by an iconic single snap that can only be ... Rabanne. 

It’s very rare that a fragrance can be recognisable by just a feeling. But for Rabanne, scent is not only about luxury or meticulous craftsmanship, it's an emotive vehicle that drives a feeling, a culture, a movement and a generational rally to inspire unshakeable self-confidence and audacious self-expression.

Since being founded in 1966 by late Spanish fashion designer Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo — better known as Paco Rabanne — Rabanne has been the epitome of rebellious creativity, disruptive ingenuity and fashion-forward cool with its use of unconventional materials (metal and plastic) that gave its garments a unique, bold and futuristic identity — something that hadn’t been seen in fashion at that time.

That same audacious, disruptive spirit extended into the house’s venture into fragrance, creating some of the world’s most iconic scents — namely 1 Million launched in 2008.

Almost two decades later, Rabanne welcomes a new era of 1 Million with the launch of Million Gold Eau De Parfum Intense For Him and Million Gold For Her, two scents that celebrate self-confidence, flamboyance and empowerment.

Million Gold Eau De Parfum Intense For Him is packaged in a take on the instantly recognisable 1 Million gold ingot, while there's a new crystalline bottle for Million Gold For Her. Drawing inspiration from Rabanne´s fashion legacy, both come dressed with the signature Rabanne XL Link.

Inspired by the boat chains of Brittany in France, a place of inspiration for both monsieur Rabanne and the brand's current creative director Julien Dossena, the XL Link is artful piece of design featuring a series of interlaced links varying in size. 

First introduced into the house’s signature jewellery designs in 2019, the XL Link has since been reimagined repeatedly in various colours, shapes and materials — and is now reborn on the Million Gold bottles as a larger-than-life insignia of masculine confidence and all-powerful femininity. 

Million Gold Eau De Parfum Intense For Him

Created by master perfumer duo Christophe Raynaud and Quentin Bisch, Million Gold is said to be “made for the man who rejects the rules of convention”.

For the pair, it was important that Million Gold remained true to the same olfactive DNA of its predecessor, but still dared to be different: it's an elevated, more fashion-forward version that introduces a new modern masculinity for the next generation.

“The original 1 Million was disruptive for its time due to its ultra woody, ambery profile,” says Raynaud, who was involved in its creation. “With Million Gold, we hope to repeat the addictive success story by developing an intensely powerful woody signature using quintessential, noble wood qualities. In particular, the sandalwood we used is a niche perfumery ingredient that lends the fragrance an exceptionally addictive, sensual quality.” 

Million Gold is a textured woody scent that uses the highest quality of raw materials to create a scent that conveys a modern masculine confidence. With notes of cardamom oil, bergamot, Rose Absolute, Pink Peppercorn CO2, cinnamon bark oil, Akigalawood and cypriol oil, the citrus-spicy signature of the original 1 Million scent profile is built upon with sandalwood and cedarwood, blended with sustainable mandarin and exclusive Bergamot Integral. 

“Everything was based on the high quality of each raw material, as well as its symbolic meaning and its impact upon the composition. The perfume’s floral heart was all about Rose in the original. With Million Gold, it becomes a blooming Violet: a new icon for a bold new signature. We have also created a great woody complex for the new version, built around a milk of Sandalwood Spicatum, and made with super high-quality ingredients like natural Cypriol, exclusive Akigalawood and a unique Cedarwood fraction,” says Raynaud. 

Million Gold For Her 

The introduction of Million Gold For Her not only signals a new intoxicating and empowering feminine signature, but the first ever Grand Floral for the Rabanne house, created at Symrise by four globally-acclaimed perfumers: Alienor Massenet, Suzy Le Helley, Nathalie Benareau and Loc Dong.

Taking inspiration from the masculine-feminine parallel seen in the Rabanne metal dress, Million Gold For Her explores the duality of masculinity and femininity as feminine floral notes such as rose are blended with the more masculine elements of a salty mineral musk accord.

“Throughout the project, we played with the ambivalent characteristic of the Rabanne Maison: the feminine and elegant side, as well as the androgynous facet. These two aspects can also be found in the iconic Rabanne metal dress worn in the [Million Era] advert, conjuring a sense of sensuality and the sensation of cold metal against skin. This is a dress that is very feminine. It hugs the curves of a woman, while on a hanger it reflects the masculine metal. This is exactly the idea behind the fragrance,” says Massenet.

Housed in a new refillable, crystalline bottle, the juice keeps sustainability and quality in mind, as it comprises ingredients of 90% natural origin that are sustainably-grown and Fairtrade-certified. 

“At Symrise, we can develop tailor-made ingredients and produce exclusive qualities for very specific projects. For Million Gold For Her, we created an exclusive raw material reserved for Rabanne Maison: a co-distillation of lavender oil x Tonkalactone. We combined [this] with other very noble natural ingredients, such as jasmine Coeur de saison absolute, a unique ingredient developed for Symrise perfumers; mandarin oil from Madagascar, which is hand-pressed only by women using an ancestral technique; and Madagascar vanilla absolute, for which Symrise is the only fragrance composition house to have an integrated, sustainable supply chain in place. We have perfected every part of the fragrance to make Million Gold For Her a unique feminine signature,” says Massenet.

The campaign

In true Rabanne fashion, the TV and print campaigns created by visionary director Manu Cossu and fashion photographer Mert Alas bring the Million Gold universe to life.

Glossy and dreamy, with the feel of Studio 54 and the flair of the 1970s and 1980s, the Million Gold campaign is fronted by American supermodel Gigi Hadid and Ghanaian-American musician Moses Sumney. 

The house is known for featuring songs that speak to a generation in its campaigns and this one is no exception; it's underscored by Pure/Honey, a track from Renaissance album by Beyoncé, who very rarely lends her music to commercial projects.

Pure/Honeydraws inspiration from the ballroom culture, voguing and the celebration of black and queer subcultures, and perfectly aligns with Rabanne’s celebration of inclusivity, music, culture and dance. 

Click here to shop the new Rabanne Million Gold EDP Intense For Him and Million Gold For Her.

This article was sponsored by Rabanne.