Alex Israel. “Bat-Signal” (2019). Rented World War II–era spotlight modified with *Batman* logo. Spotlight (folded facedown): 98 ½” x 70 ⅞” x 118 ⅛”. Installation view, *Alex Israel: Freeway*, Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, November 10, 2021–March 6, 2022. Alex Israel and Louis Vuitton have collaborated on a sixth fragrance, *City of Stars*, which captures the spirit of Los Angeles at night.

Alex Israel was born and raised in los Angeles. He wears his hair short and his dark sunglasses inside and out. He was educated in the peach-skied and palm-treed environs of the USC Roski School of Art and Design, as well as the storied East Coast gravity of Yale University. Upon viewing Israel’s work, however, there is no doubt which coastal lineage he is choosing to represent—that of the West Coast; the cool, the calm, the transient, the approachable (to a point), the ice cream softserved sweetness by the beach.

Not only is Israel a multimedia artist—that of painter and sculptor— he is also a writer, eyewear designer, and filmmaker (see SPF-18, his debut feature film). But where the stars have truly aligned at this precise moment in time is on the occasion of his latest collaboration with lauded fashion house, Louis Vuitton—of whom he has dabbled with, and dazzled alongside, on more than one occasion. Over the last few years, Israel has created a handbag, scarves, and a trunk with the Maison—all groovy and distinctly those of his symbolic brushstroke— that freshness, that juxtaposition, those eternally desirable Californian vistas and je ne sais quoi.

But back to the galactic arrangements that guided us here: Israel’s newest effort with LV, City of Stars. The evening-prone cologne—the latest in a series the artist has visually crafted for the Maison—is inspired by a summer night in Tinseltown and nosed by the legendary Master Perfumer, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. City of Stars—espousing a citrus quintet, Tiare flower, and sandalwood—saw Israel design the bottle, packaging, and a unique travel case and trunk. The results imbue with possibility, with fortuitousness, and of course a limitless twinkle of sprawl and expanse.

The poetics and tensions of Los Angeles are not lost on alchemist Belletrud, who remarks on the ethos and origins of City of Stars: “It’s a more extroverted eau than its predecessors. It’s radically turned toward the special, shimmering atmosphere of a night in Los Angeles when the singular setting sun gives way to the city’s lights and spotlights that traverse the sky. It’s a luminous night… I wanted to work specifically with the flesh of blood orange, the heart of this generous perfume, which has a very particular fruitiness, a truly delicious and optimistic fleshy note. All these citruses come from Sicily and Calabria—they have the ravishing glimmer of those sun-drenched regions… They celebrate the night and characterize the sophistication of a perfume that ultimately exudes sensuality—as if to say, ‘Let’s stay together like this forever.’”

The sentiment invokes the romance of great cinema. Apropos looking ahead, then, Israel will continue to evolve on his more recognizable output—pastel waves and busts of his head filled in with California artifacts—with conceptualizations that nod to what Los Angeles was irrefutably founded upon: that of the Hollywood film industry. The motifs afoot will thread filmic references like those of the Batman franchise and the beloved Rosebud prop from the iconic Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane. Props—those replications and relics of storytelling—compel a continuous fondness for Israel. One of the artist’s notable works is a riff on the Easter Island sculptures, wherein upon wandering through a Los Angeles prop shop he spotted Easter Island remakes that had been props of a bygone day; he proceeded to create an installation on Venice Beach.

The remixing of originals, the storytelling, the gradients, the gentle waves, the California mystique is alive and well in the work of Alex Israel. So let’s step into the night with the contemporary artist, along with his old friend in fashionable arms, Louis Vuitton, for a quick conversation about the project, the city in which he resides, and more.

Your collaboration with LV has not been short-lived. What do you owe to its longevity, and how do you feel your relationship with the House has evolved over the years?

We all really enjoy working together. We’ve been connecting the dots between the brand, Los Angeles, and my work, and I guess there are a lot of dots! The relationship is evolving—with each year the projects have become more indepth. We’ve gotten to do a bit more world-building around each new fragrance that we’ve launched together, and in that process, we’ve all pushed each other and learned new things. It’s been rewarding.

A summer night in LA can boast an array of fragrances and auras. Which part of the city do you feel Jacques Cavallier Belletrud has most distinctly channeled in the creation of this fragrance? Does it suggest the beach cities to you? The Hills? Downtown? The Boulevards? A combination?

For me, it evokes The Hills. I live in the hills up above the Sunset Strip, and I love taking walks along the winding streets in the early evenings after work. As soon as I smelled Jacques’ finished fragrance, I felt close to home.

The City of Stars packaging and bottle could be said to boast a palette reminiscent of certain 20th century LA moments, be they advertising campaigns, cinema, billboards… would you say the palette and hues are reminiscent or contemporary? Can they be both?

Sure, they’re both. Or maybe something else entirely.

How would you describe your own relationship with color over the course of your career? Has what stimulates you, or inspires you, remained constant or changed?

Intimate! Inspiration is everywhere and always changing. But certain things inspire me endlessly: LA, art history, pop music…

Alex Israel. “Self-Portrait” (2014). Acrylic And Bondo On Fiberglass In Seven Parts, Each: 69” X 60” X 3”. Installation View, Alex Israel: Freeway, Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, November 10, 2021 — March 6, 2022. Photography Credit: Jjy.

In the spirit of the initiative, do you like the idea that we are all made of stardust?

Yes, and I think that’s actually a proven fact! But there’s another kind of stardust in Hollywood—the residue of movie magic, and that’s reserved for the storytellers.

How might you describe the olfactory identity of your work on a wider scale? Does it have a smell? How might you describe it? Are there scents in nature or elsewhere that infuse it?

Some detractors might think it smells a little fishy.

If Los Angeles is a verb, how might you define it?

To Los Angeles is to dream.

You mentioned an upcoming project that invokes Rosebud from Citizen Kane. Can you describe your personal relationship to the iconic piece of cinema? Will your sculpture aim to connote obsession? Childhood longing? What do you yearn for from your own childhood that is impossible to experience as an adult?

In my experience, certain cinema props are akin to readymade sculptures in that they have the potential to magically transcend their materiality and become auric, inanimate storytellers. And therefore they might end up catching some of that Hollywood stardust. Rosebud is arguably the most famous prop, and yes, it symbolizes so many things. I miss being able to fit through the doggie door. I tried last night when I got locked out of my house, and I just couldn’t make it. You are regularly cited as an artist that explores and champions the pop motifs and aesthetics of Los Angeles in your work, and yet this is a cosmopolitan center much in flux.

Alex Israel. “Lens” (2014). Uv Protective Plastic Lens. 84” X 96”. Photography Credit: Zarko Vijatovic.

What are you disheartened about concerning the direction you’re seeing your city take? What is continually fascinating or intriguing to you about LA?

I think it’s impossible to go a day in LA without being confronted and incredibly saddened by the city’s ever-growing homeless population. What I find continually fascinating about LA is that every day, people come here from all over the world to reinvent themselves and pursue their dreams. And while most will never achieve the fame and fortune they might desire, some actually will and that’s inspiring.

You have enjoyed a handful of cross-categorical collaborations as an artist (beyond LV, there is Snapchat, for instance). How do you feel these sorts of collaborations have deepened your considerations as an artist?

I think I’m happiest when I’m learning new things, and collaborations with brands have given me the opportunity for so much continued education. They’ve also helped me grow the audience for my work. I’m especially excited about reaching younger audiences.

Your cover work invokes Flaunt’s issue theme “Phone a Friend” with the Batman symbol projected over the haze-coated skyline of Shanghai’s Bund. Can you speak to this particular series as it relates to friendship, a desire to connect, or perhaps a situation that suggests a time of need?

Again, it’s a recreation of a movie prop. The bat-signal, for me, has always been a symbol of hope.

What did you learn about yourself that came as a surprise in the course of the pandemic?

I definitely prefer myself with short hair.