Masami Charlotte Lavault, the founder of Paris’ first flower farm and an impassioned advocate for sustainable floriculture, has become a well-known figure both in the French capital and beyond. The 36-year-old poetic activist, who never takes holidays and spends all her days at the farm, draws her strength from nature, much like her totem flower: the dahlia. This blossom is the star ingredient of the new Flower by Kenzo La Récolte Parisienne fragrance, for which Masami is also the face. With her French-Japanese roots and deep love for flowers, she perfectly embodies the essence of the Flower woman.
“Though it’s often challenging, I’m very happy. I’ve been working almost every day for ten years now. Even on weekends. Holidays are completely foreign to me.”
On a sunny Monday afternoon in June, we find ourselves on a somewhat whimsical walk that leads us to a green door at the far end of Le Cimetière de Belleville. “At first, I found it strange to walk through the cemetery every day to reach the flower farm, but now I love it,” Masami Charlotte says. “In a Western world where death is hidden, the cemetery reminds me that death is part of life. When I die, some plants will continue to grow, others will die and be overrun by new ones. Wooden structures will decay, metal components will last a little longer, but eventually, they will all disappear. We all have an impact, and even though I also have a phone, I’m proud that my work leaves such a small footprint. Before this, I was an industrial designer in London, but the long hours in an office, the blue light, the pressure, and the reckless use of resources to produce accessories disturbed me. One day, I was asked to quickly design a leather weekend bag. When I found out that one bag used up an entire cowhide, I was shocked. I realized that what I had designed was part of a terrible system of overconsumption. What I was doing was far from life-changing, and I wanted out. But to do what? I thought about the positive opposite of what I was doing and arrived at horticulture. It’s another form of creation, but this time, the goal is to conserve resources (such as not using too much water) and give back to the earth what it gives us. Within three weeks, I was on my way to a biodynamic farm in Morocco. But I knew nothing, had no skills. As the daughter of a Japanese bookseller and a police officer, I had no affinity with horticulture. I grew up in Paris and had nothing to do with any of this. Then, I went to Japan, my mother’s birthplace, where I immersed myself in the fermentation of microorganisms. Eventually, I returned and started a farm in Paris after submitting a proposal for my flower farm, ‘Plein Air Paris,’ to the city council. It was as if I was reborn. This complex profession, where you have to use your brain to align with nature, is incredible. You are constantly using your body. You have to think about fairly complex systems, like irrigation and farm planning, and you need good entrepreneurship skills.”
“I sometimes see people cry. My flower farm has an impressive effect on them.”
The Ideal Profession
“It’s truly one of the most fulfilling jobs I’ve ever experienced, and honestly, it’s incredibly satisfying because it makes you so aware of the world around you,” Masami says. “I’m outside all the time, subjected to the weather, which affects us all. There’s no negotiating with it – it rains, or it doesn’t. I find it important to live with that understanding, that we can’t keep negotiating with the planet for much longer. At some point, the Earth will say, ‘Enough, I don’t want humans anymore.’ Though it’s often challenging, I’m very happy. I’ve been working almost every day for ten years now. Even on weekends. Holidays are completely foreign to me. Here, I care for about 350 different flower species and maybe 100,000 individual plants that I have a real moral obligation to. I need to give them what they need to live. But I’m outside all year long, breathing the fresh air every day. Everyone I know who works in the city is basically not breathing. So, I understand that I’m very privileged. That’s why I try to open this place to the public as much as possible, because green spaces and nature are so far removed from Paris, and I can see how much people suffer because of that. On my open days, I sometimes see people cry. My flower farm has an impressive effect on them.”
A Serendipitous Encounter
“Because I was the first female flower farmer of my kind, I had no existing model to follow, so I tried everything,” Masami Charlotte explains. “In the beginning, I harvested and delivered flowers to florists myself. The logistics of deliveries were terrible. Then I decided to sell directly to individuals and create bouquets live. Soon, hundreds of people were coming, and I had to harvest everything in advance. During COVID, I started online sales. A few years ago, I partnered with Désirée, an eco-responsible flower shop in Paris, and together, we won a project proposal from the city of Paris, which granted us a new five-hectare plot of land, 60 kilometers outside Paris. Now, I grow, harvest, and supply flowers to Désirée from Plein Air Paris (50 acres), and soon from our new five-hectare farm, Les Fleurs de Sonchamp. Désirée, founded by Audrey Venant and Mathilde Bignon and specializing in 100% French flowers, requires a constant supply of blooms year-round, even in winter. Désirée will handle logistics and distribution, which will change my work. Initially, it will focus on production, but my goal is to transform the new farm into a school where we can teach both horticulture and floristry.”
The story of the new Flower by Kenzo La Récolte Parisienne fragrance also begins at Masami Charlotte Lavault’s flower field, in the heart of Paris. The flowers, chosen for their beauty, fragrance, vase life, and compatibility with the Parisian climate, are grown biodynamically, with deep respect for nature. “I came into contact with Kenzo quite by accident,” Masami Charlotte shares. “I provided the flowers for one of their events in Paris, and that’s how everything began. The collaboration with Kenzo really helped me prepare the new farm and, for example, restore a neglected 1950s orchard to create a paradise of fruit and flowers.”
Capturing Fragrances Without Picking Flowers
Today, Kenzo stands by Lavault in a shared mission: to promote gentle, environmentally friendly flower farming and make ecology irresistible. For the new Flower by Kenzo La Récolte Parisienne Eau de Parfum, Kenzo found inspiration in the Plein Air Paris flower field. The French luxury house harvested the scent of dahlias—the star ingredient of the fragrance—using the Nature Print® technique, which captures their aromatic molecules under a glass dome at the peak of their fragrance. This special scent is then reproduced by perfumers. “I love the green note of the dahlia that you smell when you cut the stem during harvesting,” Masami Charlotte reveals. For this fresh, spicy floral scent, perfumer Dora Baghriche skillfully reimagined the iconic Flower signature (Damask rose and white musk), composed by master perfumer Alberto Morillas, with the addition of the scent of rosy dahlias, combined with tangy yellow mandarin, spicy pink pepper, and soft, sweet tonka bean to create a light, modern fragrance that feels like a bouquet of freshly picked flowers.
