OFFICINE UNIVERSELLE BULY 1803 : THE RETURN OF TIMELESS BEAUTY
An interview with Victoire de Taillac, and Florian-Élie Vaz
by Marina Micuccio
Officine Universelle Buly is a project that moves effortlessly across different eras, as though time were not a straight line but an ongoing dialogue. Born from the desire to revive a nineteenth-century universe devoted to the rituals of care and beauty, the brand founded by Ramdane Touhami and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami has gradually taken shape as a singular language—one in which historical research, aesthetic sensitivity, and contemporary vision coexist without contradiction.
Within this ever-expanding universe, the role of Florian-Élie Vaz emerges as a key element: his work helps bring narrative coherence and cultural depth to the project, fostering a dialogue between communication, heritage, and the broader aesthetic imagination.
Far more than a simple act of revival, Buly is an exercise in rewriting: every product, every boutique, every detail becomes part of a larger narrative that transforms cosmetics into a cultural and sensory experience. Within this delicate balance between memory and reinvention, the everyday gesture acquires a new, almost narrative density.
It is precisely within this fertile tension between past and present, between craftsmanship and global vision, that this conversation with the three protagonists unfolds: a dialogue that moves through ideas, aesthetics, and convictions, entering the heart of a maison that has made beauty a form of knowledge and time a creative material.
Officine Universelle Buly | Boutique Milano.
Your project seems to emerge from a constant dialogue between eras: how do you manage to preserve this balance between past and present?
FEV – There are forms of expertise that have been forgotten with the advent of new technologies. Handcraft and service have become contingent rituals whose grace has gradually faded. There is a kind of grace and devotion in watching a human being apply themselves to calligraphy, folding, painting, selling. Often, the customs and traditions of a bygone age are the remedy for contemporary times that become intoxicated with themselves and ultimately wither away. The past is a key, but it does not unlock success on its own. To be backward-looking rings of bitterness of spirit, whereas the world is brimming with beneficial techniques, as things stand today.
Ramdane Touhami has always defined the officine as having “one foot before, one foot in the now, and another foot ahead.” It is this perpetual mise en abyme of time — through architectural details that invite temporal confrontation, through the incorporation of engineering feats into the creation of fragrances and skincare, or through Victoire de Taillac’s relentless pursuit of the finest cutting-edge Japanese beauty accessories — that the dialogue takes shape. To offer the very best of the world, and of every era, in a waltz in three-quarter time, without ever becoming trapped in restrictive dogmatism.
How important is, in your work, the idea of transmitting knowledge as well as a product?
FEV – We are fortunate to have a catalogue whose extraordinary breadth can at times feel vertiginous. Behind those 900 references, there are far fewer numbers than there is a journey through beauty secrets, through the olfactory history and scents particular to specific latitudes. Each product tells a story: of the hand that harvested, of the patient hand that sowed, or the one that forged — one comes to embrace a cultural diversity that can neither be overlooked nor separated from the final product. We are told that we are custodians of time, and perhaps even storytellers. It is important that the customer learns a virtue, a cosmetic or architectural property, with each visit.
This generosity of exchange, through conversation, pays tribute to that French cult of orality. It is through words that every story passes.
The certain aim — far from a pious wish — is to achieve a moment of grace with the customer: that instant when everything stops whilst the shop is buzzing and the ceiling fan turns at full speed. To captivate, to surprise. These are honourable ambitions before the daily curtain rises on a boutique.
Officine Universelle Buly | Boutique Milano.
In what way does your personal sensitivity influence Buly’s aesthetic and creative decisions?
VT – L’Officine Universelle Buly is an eminently personal project — the expression of our taste and creativity within the inspiring framework of a nineteenth-century beauty brand. Our obsessions with the life of boutiques, the art of conversation, service, and attention to detail are perfectly embodied within it. All decisions and creations come from Ramdane and myself; the singularity of the brand is born of this precise and unequivocal direction. We have also been fortunate to create a world apart, into which a great many talented people have joined us, both in the boutiques and the offices. They have made the brand their own and contribute to bringing it to life and letting it flourish.
Your vision of beauty feels deeply intimate: how is such a personal relationship with the public built today?
FEV – Nothing is more intimate than attending to oneself in the bathroom, and tending to one’s own care. The sanctuary of that most restorative of rooms holds some of the world’s best-kept secrets. Just as one must make peace with one’s mirror in order to be gentle with oneself, so too must one cultivate a relationship with cosmetic products. The market is saturated with anti-ageing or anti-this-and-that references, when what matters is learning to live with oneself. Placing emphasis on powders, clays, and plant oils is a rigorous philosophy grounded in effectiveness and centuries of transmission. Everything exists in nature, and everything works. And everyone can find a routine suited to their skin and their wishes — many middle paths and routes are on offer. We have even developed, over the past three years, a diagnostic application: Skin Concierge. The Officine also publishes a number of books that one can read — exclusively, even — in one’s bathroom. L’Atlas de beauté au naturel and L’Art d’être belle, both by Victoire de Taillac, contribute to that time for oneself, cradled in the tender embrace of the bathroom.
What role does time — understood as slowness and attentiveness — play in your idea of luxury?
VT – The most important distinction within our officines is the attention given to our visitors: this capacity to take the time to listen to them and to converse about their tastes and requirements in beauty. Such attentiveness requires time, and the freedom to give it. Other gestures also influence the perception of time within our officines: the preparation of products, calligraphy, embossing, and engraving. The instantaneousness of purchase does not exist in the officines, and this time instead becomes an opportunity for our visitors to explore and discover. We hope that the officines serve as a capsule in which time stands still.
Officine Universelle Buly | Boutique Milano.
Your boutiques tell different stories in every city: how important is the dialogue with the local cultural context for you?
VT – There is a mirror effect between the officine and the city or neighbourhood that welcomes it — a historical and aesthetic resonance in which Buly’s codes are reinterpreted by Ramdane in his creation of each boutique. The officines exist within a cultural continuum so as to honour the identity of the city, setting themselves apart from global brands that endlessly replicate their boutiques. Ramdane actively champions this “aesthetic deglobalisation.”
How essential is it today to preserve a craft-based dimension within an international project?
VT – Respecting the value of everyone’s work, and contributing to the prestige of handcraft, is our highest distinction. We are proud to have taught calligraphy — thanks to the extraordinary teaching of our master calligrapher Bruno Gigarel — to more than 300 people. In an increasingly digitised world, it is something of a miracle to perpetuate such precious skills and to share them with all, across our officines throughout the world.
Your research spans different cultures and traditions: what guides you in choosing what deserves to be brought back to light?
VT – The freedom of having our own officines allows us to take the time to explain all manner of uses and customs. We therefore never shy away from complexity or the singularity of an accessory. Our only filter is quality: it is essential that every accessory be made from a durable material, for lasting use. We also collect beauty secrets from around the world. Through our collection of plant oils and powders, we endeavour to preserve traditional knowledge as well as cultivation and production practices that respect the environment. Our curiosity for beauty traditions and rituals is immense, and discovery is constant. We are always attentive to our teams, customers, and partners in order to add rarities to this selection.
Officine Universelle Buly | Boutique Milano.
In what way does your role as Head of Communications, Press, Culture & Heritage help translate Buly’s identity into a coherent language between memory, communication, and contemporary imagination?
FEV – “If Paris is well worth a Mass,” then Buly is well worth a play. My role is to sustain this permanent theatre of retail and this singular cultural feeling across our events, which are produced on a human scale and to human measure. Through the close guidance of Victoire and Ramdane, to watch carefully over the “sense and good sense” of our decisions. Why do them? To what end? To question oneself, aided by texts, philosophy, and literary precepts. Communications here exists solely to serve the boutiques, in their full and devoted service: how does one build renown through silence, in an ever more saturated world? This role consists in asking questions in an age where communication appears to have all the answers, and where the excessive heritage-isation of things passes off bladders for lanterns. Meaning is the primary question; mood and panache come as buttresses thereafter. A general rule for never growing bored at one’s desk.
If you had to describe the essence of Officine Universelle Buly in one image or sensation, what would it be?
FEV – Much is said of the unbearable lightness of being, but rather less of the bearable lightness of a Buly marble countertop. Highly contagious.
