02.06.12
In discussing inspiration, panelists cited a range of far reaching sources, from Rodrigo Flores-Roux acknowledgment of designer John Varvatos, artist Caravaggio and Mexican poet Carlos Pellicer as continual inspirations to the recognition of global sourcing and economic collaborations cited by Chandler Burr, who acknowledged the work of Givaudan and IFF for their materials outreach and sustainability efforts, yielding ingredients from Java, Sumatra, and Venezuela, as well as their collaborations with farmers, growers, and indigenous communities that bring the fragrances together.
The panel paid homage to the network of influences, collaborations and subtexts that ultimately combine to create the fragrance story. These included collaborations with artists, writers, architects, designers as well as collaborations based on the culinary world, with Flores-Roux noting such culinary treasures as black truffles, being part of the fragrance world.
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Burr concurred, saying, “Collaborations must be done well. If you do it well, you can do a collaboration with a store that sells canned tomatoes. But, the ultimate collaboration is between the patron of the art and the perfumer.”
“I think people are looking for another message, another landscape, with a different texture and feel,” said Flores-Roux, intimating that something more is coming, with music and scent.
Indie winners group shot, left to right, Cosimo Policastro, EVP, fine fragrances, Givaudan, David Pirotta, brand management, 06 Amanu Odin Fragrances New York, co-creators Larry Paul, Kelly Kovack, and drom perfumer Kevin Verspoor, Bruce Teitelbaum, ECO, RPG, Frederick Bouchardy, Elements Showcase, Mary Ellen Lapsansky, vice president, The Fragrance Foundation, Jeff Lawson, Elements Showcase, Ulrich Lang, Elements Showcase. |
“Clearly, said Fedelli, “you can apply the invisibility of perfume with music or a song, as well as literature or a poem, everything is possible.”
Flores-Roux concluded, “We are all trying to find the alternative way to experience perfume.”
The Event Landscape
According to Frederick Bouchardy, Joya Studio and founder of the Elements Showcase, with Ulrich Lang and Jeff Lawson, “We have created this concept. There are niche perfume fairs in Europe that we’ve been to that are beautiful. But, the idea here was to merge the experience of an art fair with the mastery of fragrance design. In a way, we invented the idea of fragrance design, i.e., categorizing apothecary products and contextualizing them as design objects. In the process we created a new community, as well as a marketplace, which is the most thrilling part of it.”
Exhibitors presented new launches and concepts that captivated with scent, stories, and packaging. Strange Invisible Perfumes offered a new Bath & Body Collection, featuring body washes and body lotions with hydro-distilled bergamot, lemon and neroli, lavender and vetiver, sage and rose, and frankincense and coriander. Also featured were the Perfumes of the Zodiac, with the newest set including Aries Eau de Parfum, with frankincense and patchouli, Libra, with rose and golden champa; Pisces, with angelica and jasmine; Taurus, with honey and oak moss; and Virgo, with baked earth, palo santo and jasmine sambac.
Arquiste debuted with L’Etrog, a citrus chypre, with myrtle, date fruit, and vetiver; Flor y Canto, with a background of copal and notes of Mexican tuberose; and Anima Dulcis, with cocoa absolute and Mexican vanilla, a virtual journey to the Royal Convent of Jesus Maria in Mexico City.
Others featured were Bond No. 9’s new Sag Harbor, with bergamot, ivy leaves, and oud; Central Park West, a new scent for spring, with narcissus, gardenia and musk; and I Love NY Earth Day, with orange flower water, orris and sandalwood. Sarah Horowitz Parfums featured nature identical florals and new interpretations of classics, including Coconut Milk, with tonka bean and Egyptian musk, and Perfect Veil, with lemon, sandalwood and vanilla.
One of Elements’ Founders, Ulrich Lang, creator of Anvers, with Laurice Rahmé, CEO of Bond No. 9, at Elements Showcase. |
Histoires de Parfums, with its literary stories, Gillesdewavrin, featuring customized scented candles, Joya, with handcraftsmanship in scented candles and fragrances, Jouany, with its olfactory destinations, Yosh, with its subtle Sottile, featuring tea rose and muguet, and White Flowers, a bouquet of tuberose, lilac and narcissus, and Brooklyn, New York’s own D.S. Durga, recent recipients of FGI’s Rising Star Award, featured a selection of handcrafted perfumes, including Cowboy Grass, with prairie sagebrush and Haitian vetiver, as well Siberian Snow, a narcotic jasmine, blended with crisp mint and powdery incense. The collections, consistently intriguing, unique and sublime, coalesced around independence, and indeed that was the theme of the event, a highlight of which was the 2012 FiFi Indie Fragrance Award ceremony, held in the evening on the first day of the show, and presented by The Fragrance Foundation.
The Indie FiFi Award recognizes the achievements of an independent fragrance brand, and is selected by a panel of judges based on criteria provided by the Fragrance Foundation and the Indie Committee. Mary Ellen Lapsanksy, vice president, The Fragrance Foundation, took to the stage and presented the crystal FiFi trophy award to 06 Amanu, Odin New York, whose winning scent is described as a primitive ambiance of Southern Mediterranean peaks combined with the ancient fertility of Anatolian soils, with a herbaceous blend of verdant galbanum and raw lentisque. The cortex of Amanu revolves around the woody cedar leaf and heady jasmine sambac, with musk, amber wood as rooting textures. Top notes included blood orange and green galbanum, middle notes were cedar leaf, jasmin sambac and magnolia, and bottom notes were, amber wood, sheer musk, and live moss.
Cosimo Policastro, executive VP-fine fragrances, Givaudan, presented 06 Amanu with a check for $10,000, and Bruce Teitelbaum, RPG, CEO, sponsor of the ceremony and cocktail party, acknowledged the creativity of the independent brands. Finalists included “Cuirs” Carner Barcelona, by Min New York, Come L’Amore, Bois 1920, Bois 1920 Holding Company, La Fumée Miller Harris, Miller Harris, and Siberian Snow by D.S. & Durga, D.S. & Durga.
More info: www.elements-showcase.com