On my desk, in thick bond paper of the slightly elongated size standard in France, lays a press release from Jean Patou. Below the image of a perfume bottle are the words “Joy Hier, Joy Aujourd’hui, Joy Forever.”

However, the press release isn’t for Joy, but for a new fragrance, Joy Forever, intended to update the classic. Creating a contemporary companion to Joy is a tall order. Audacious, even. For one thing, it assumes that Joy is out of fashion. For another — well, Joy is an icon.

Jean Patou’s house perfumer, Thomas Fontaine, explained it this way: “Women today have difficulty ‘reading’ Joy.” He said that classic Joy is a wall of scent with just a hint of a bright prelude before settling into its signature interplay of rose and indolic jasmine. He said when someone on the street is wearing Joy, her wrapping (Fontaine, in English, repeatedly used “wrapping” instead of “sillage,” and it was so charming and evocative that I want to adopt it myself) is “lush and thick.” But as he points out, it’s not a style people are used to smelling anymore…

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