Monsieur de Givenchy Haute Concentration (1985): The Rarest Masterpiece of 1980s French Perfumery.
I. Origins: Hubert de Givenchy, Francis Fabron, and the Birth of a Classic.
To understand the Haute Concentration, one must first understand its ancestor. In 1959, as Hubert de Givenchy was cementing his reputation as one of the most refined couturiers of the postwar era: the man who had dressed Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and would soon do so again in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the house launched its first masculine fragrance. Composed by Francis Fabron, himself responsible for masterworks such as L'Air du Temps and Baghari, the original Monsieur de Givenchy entered a competitive arena in which Chanel Pour Monsieur (1955) had already established the benchmark for masculine citrus chypres. Fabron's response was neither imitative nor defiant: it was, rather, a meditation on equilibrium: fresher than the Chanel, drier than the Dior Eau Sauvage that would follow seven years later, and more architecturally precise than either.
For twenty-six years, Monsieur de Givenchy remained essentially unchanged, a pillar of French masculine elegance widely admired, if never quite as celebrated as its immediate rivals. Then, in 1985, Givenchy made a calculated and historically fascinating decision: to offer its loyal clientele a version of that same language, spoken at greater volume.
II. The Decade of Concentration: A Phenomenon of the 1980s
The Haute Concentration did not emerge in a vacuum. The early 1980s witnessed a curious and largely forgotten movement within haute parfumerie: the amplification of beloved classics for a generation caught between two aesthetic worlds. Older men, devoted to the restrained elegance of their French and Italian wardrobes, found themselves suddenly outpaced by the thunderous sillage of powerhouse releases: Van Cleef et Arpels pour Homme (1978) and Ted Lapidus pour Homme (1978) at first, then Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui (1980), Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent (1981), and Chanel Antaeus (1981) among them, whose extravagant projection redefined the very grammar of masculine presence.
The response from the established houses was swift and shrewd. Yves Saint Laurent had released its Pour Homme Haute Concentration in 1983; Christian Dior with Eau Sauvage Extreme followed in 1984; Chanel would complete the trilogy in 1989 with its Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée. These were not reformulations in the modern, diminishing sense, they were re-orchestrations: the same melodic themes, expanded into a richer, more assertive register.
What distinguished the Givenchy from its peers in this small, rare category was the degree to which the Haute Concentration departed from its source. Unlike the YSL, Christian Dior or Chanel concentrated variants, which operated as faithful amplifications of their originals, Monsieur de Givenchy Haute Concentration constituted something closer to a sibling than a twin, shaped by the same skeletal structure, but dressed in different clothes.
III. Olfactory Profile: Notes, Architecture, and Character
Pyramid of Notes
Top notes: Lemon, Carnation, Cinnamon, Pepper
Heart notes: Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Sage
Base notes: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Cedar, Musk
Where the original Monsieur de Givenchy opened with a luminous, almost aqueous cascade of lemon and lemon verbena, a citrus of great delicacy, polished and cool, the Haute Concentration announces itself with considerably more authority. The lemon is still present, but it is now flanked by carnation and pepper, which lend the opening a spiced, almost vinous dimension that the original conspicuously lacked. Some wearers have reported detecting cinnamon in aged bottles, a note perhaps derived from olfactory transformation over time, or from ingredients not formally listed: a reminder that vintage perfumery remains as much archaeology as analysis.
The heart is where the Haute Concentration most decisively carves its own identity. Sage, absent from the original, enters here with a dry, almost mineral authority, shifting the composition decidedly toward the aromatic-fougère spectrum. The lavender, always present in the original, now reads as warmer, its natural sweetness amplified by the surrounding herbaceous architecture. Lemon verbena bridges the two registers gracefully, preserving a thread of the original's citric freshness without conceding the added depth.
The drydown is a chypre of impressive construction. Oakmoss and labdanum, materials now subjected to severe IFRA restriction, and therefore no longer available in this form, anchor the composition with an earthiness that is simultaneously archaic and compelling. Sandalwood adds its characteristic warmth and creaminess, while patchouli, used with notable restraint, imparts a subtle, dusky resonance without ever becoming the dominant voice. Cedar provides skeletal dryness, and the overall effect is of a fragrance that dries down into something genuinely distinguished: woody, slightly resinous, elegant without being cold.
IV. Performance and Comparative Standing
The performance of the Haute Concentration is, predictably, superior to that of the standard eau de toilette, though it should not be confused with the sheer projection of the contemporaneous powerhouses. This is not a scent designed to fill a room; it is a scent designed to reward proximity, a distinction that reflects its entire philosophical premise. Longevity on skin is commendable, typically extending across a full day's wear, with the chypre base maintaining a quiet but persistent presence well into the evening hours. Sillage is moderate: present, dignified, never aggressive.
In terms of its positioning within the masculine aromatic tradition, the Haute Concentration occupies a refined middle ground that is almost paradoxically its greatest strength and its commercial vulnerability. This measured equidistance, which in the right context reads as supreme sophistication, may have also been responsible for its commercial brevity: a fragrance that refuses to be defined by extremes is often the first to be forgotten by a market in search of the definitive statement.
V. Rarity, Discontinuation, and Legacy
The Monsieur de Givenchy Haute Concentration, known in anglophone markets as the Super Concentrate, did not survive two years: launched in 1985, it was discontinued, quite incredibly, in 1986, making it one of the most short-lived entries in the brand's fragrance history. No successor was intended for it specifically; the original Monsieur de Givenchy continued in production, and Givenchy eventually introduced Monsieur de Givenchy 2 in 1993 as a broader stylistic successor to the lineage, itself now equally defunct. But how could a fragrance of such extraordinary refinement have endured for a mere two years? In this instance, competition from more illustrious names played little part. The true reason lies elsewhere: the house of Givenchy chose to stake everything on another masculine creation launched in 1986, Xeryus, and consequently allowed Monsieur de Givenchy Haute Concentration to fade into neglect, ceasing production entirely.
Today, finding an intact bottle of the Haute Concentration is a rare achievement even for the most dedicated collector. The fragrance surfaces occasionally on vintage platforms and /or specialist vintage dealers, but authenticated bottles in good condition command significant premiums, commensurate with their scarcity. The packaging was deliberately close to that of the standard Eau de Toilette, making identification challenging for the uninitiated, a circumstance that has doubtless contributed to both the survival and the occasional mislabeling of existing stock.
The original Monsieur de Givenchy was reissued in 2007 as part of the house's Les Parfums Mythiques collection, and has since been reintegrated into Givenchy's permanent lineup in a contemporary reformulation. The Haute Concentration, however, has never been revived. It exists now only in the memories of those who wore it, in the scholarship of serious collectors, and in the bottles, growing ever rarer, that occasionally emerge from the cellars and wardrobes of another era.
VI. Critical Assessment
Monsieur de Givenchy Haute Concentration is, unambiguously, a document of its historical moment, and yet it transcends mere period interest. It demonstrates, with concision and intelligence, that the augmentation of a classic need not imply its distortion. Fabron's original composition is treated with the respect one might accord a great text: the Haute Concentration amplifies, annotates, and deepens, without revising or replacing.
Its oakmoss-anchored chypre base, now a ghost note impossible to replicate under current regulations, places it in a category of irreplaceable olfactory heritage. The sage, the spiced carnation, the dry cedarwood heart: these are materials assembled with the assurance of a craftsman who understood that restraint and richness are not opposites, but complements.
For the historian of perfumery, it offers a precise cross-section of a particular aesthetic moment: the intersection of classical French elegance and the growing demand for masculine presence that defined the mid-1980s. For the collector, it is an object of genuine desire: scarce, beautiful, and suspended in time. For the wearer fortunate enough to possess a surviving bottle, it remains what all great fragrances ultimately are: not merely a scent, but a way of inhabiting the world.
Images posted for purely informative and historical purposes. All rights belong to their legitimate owners. Please note: Raiders of the Lost Scent is an independent editorial platform. We are not involved in the commercial trade of perfumes and do not sell fragrances.
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