When Real and Imaginary Worlds Collide
Gleaning inspiration and wisdom from Ramdane Touhami
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the qualities that make, well, anything, interesting. People, shops, museums, cafés, it all boils down to offering a unique point of view. This could be the products offered, the design of the space, or simply the way you hold a conversation. When it comes to people I do believe the most interesting variety are those who’ve chosen to be curious and who’ve been unafraid to take risks. Trying things outside of ones comfort zone is something I touch on a lot because, even though I feel like I should be older and wiser, there are still things in my life that I’m afraid to do.
But then I think about people like Ramdane Touhami, a polymath creative who is best-known for reviving French beauty brand Officine Universelle Buly, or simply Buly for short. Touhami grew up in a small village called Montauban outside of Toulouse in the southwest of France. It was a remote place and upon visiting Paris, he describes it as “something happening in another world for me.” His infrequent visits to Paris would be formative though, allowing him to conure a mood based on the 19th century and to create his own world.
He eventually moved to Paris when he was 17, living homeless and making things work in order to survive. It was in 1997 that he developed L’Epicerie, a concept store that carried music and magazines and clothing from designers like Marc Jacobs and Jeremy Scott. This was the beginning for him of creating unique worlds that only existed in his mind. From there he went on to resurrect Cire Trudon, the now iconic candle brand, and then went on to create the universe of Buly.
If you’re unfamiliar Buly is a “beauty brand,” which I put in quotes because of the range of products they offer. They’re most well-known for their perfumes, and they’ve been going viral lately for their monogram-able lip balms, though they also sell toothpastes, elaborate combs, lip balms, room sprays… you get it. Everything is designed to look like it’s of a time, and as Touhami describes in the book The Beauty of Time Travel, he’s realized “the real and imaginary worlds that collide in a brand.” For Touhami it’s about storytelling, capturing the essence of something and making people feel like they’re visiting an apothecary that’s never closed it’s doors.
I first visited Buly in 2019, which, I’m assuming was a recommendation by my friend David who knows all the best places in Paris. The store in le Marais was gorgeous, a place out of time filled with odds and ends, trinkets and curiosities. I browsed all the shelves and smelled all the scents, eventually deciding upon Venus de Milo (a scent they no longer sell) and then settling down for a sandwich, an iced americano, and a green tea. It was incredible how he’d built a world with such beautiful details everywhere, everything felt special, and you felt like you never wanted to leave.
All things come to an end though. In 2021, Touhami and his wife and partner Victoire de Taillac-Touhami sold Buly to the LVMH group, owners of brands like Louis Vuitton. I’m sure they made a pretty penny, and supposedly they’re still involved in some ways that I’m unclear on. But it doesn’t matter as he has a new project, the Hotel Drei Berge, located out in the middle of nowhere in Switzerland. He bought the 19-room hotel back in 2022, and as he told FT, “It’s the only place I can express myself from A to Z, to do things totally my way!” And this is a fascinating aspect of Touhami to me, that he continues to create these unique projects because he’s curious. He may be thinking to himself, “I’ve built a beauty brand, why can’t I build an entire world?” He’s like a real life Wes Andersen, creating experiences and beautiful spaces that whisk you away to another place, that get you wrapped up into a story.
There are so many interesting aspects that I love about Touhami, for example, not worrying about having a single logo for Buly. In his own words, “A logo is ultimately a rule, and rules are made to be broken. It embodies marketing in the 20th century, a bit stiff and retrograde. Officine already has a dozen or so logos, all of them different. This is because I’m not selling a logo. I’m selling a view of the world, a way of doing things, a good product.” I think this is a brilliant point and shows how far ahead he is in terms of brand building. And as he continues to build the brand and world of Drei Berge he’s trying new tricks.
Recently he collaborated with Bode and Green River Project to create two custom hotel rooms. Adorned with jockey silks and horse show ribbons, the room is an ode to horse racing, which is oddly charming and eccentric in the best way. Working with those you respect and admire always yields a great outcome. And again, working with Bode and GRP, they have a unique point of view, one that blends Americana with Indian heritage.
I felt like writing about Ramdane Touhami because I wanted to share how inspiring he is to me as I begin my next series of projects. I don’t want to do things like Touhami, I want to be prolific like Touhami. I want to create things that an average person would never think of, or would be mesmerized by. I start sculpting class tomorrow and I’m so excited to see what comes of it, and I’ll definitely be sharing my progress next week! Hope you’re well, stay cool 💙
Loved this one Bobby. What a guy.