Scents inspired by novels or poems are not a new idea.
After all, in an age where story telling is key to most brands’ marketing, what more efficient way to offer a backstory to your scent than to anchor it to an existing literary creation?
Vol de Nuit by Guerlain (Jacques Guerlain) comes to mind (1919) based on the eponymous book by Antoine de Saint Exupery, in my humble opinion the most poetic and successful example of the soul of a novel translated into scent, as does (La) Promesse de l’Aube (Francis Kurdjian) (2006) by MDCI, based on the Romain Gary’s novel, an ode to maternal love.
And who can forget the legendary Mitsouko, also by Guerlain, based on Farrès novel La Bataille?So although not a new concept, there has been an increasing trend among brands to take literature as the creative “raison d’être” for their perfumes, such as Thai brand Dusita, who creates scents inspired by the poetry of her father.
Or Edition, a UK-based brand whose mission is to “translate” famous literary works into olfactive form. (For example, On the road by Kerouac, although I am not sure who their perfumer is, information is a bit scant about this, a shame).
This obvious, but in my mind still under-exploited, link between the written words and scent is what pushed visual artist Laura Amato ( www.lauramato.com) to create an award dedicated to artistic perfumery and literature.
And what better place to host this award than the Eternal city?
The centre of the world for centuries, the arrival point to which all roads use to led to, and certainly, culturally speaking, a vital part of European identity, Rome has also a long and ancient link to perfumery, as Laura so eloquently explains on the Aromata/Associazione LiberoStile website (https://liberostile.org/en/aromata )
As a side note, I also think that in the modern world where, tragically, ancient cities have gradually been destroyed by war, man’s folly or natural disasters (think of Saana in Yemen, Aleppo in Syria or even Athens, where really only the area of the Acropolis remains) Rome is truly unique. The city’s intact archeological remains date back millennia, piled onto one another like a historical mille-feuille cake, undisturbed by modern realities while still being a living entity not relegated to the status of a still-life museum, which is remarkable.
It is, first and foremost, the city of survivors, a testament to the irrelevance of the passage of time, a philosophical reminder that we are all but a speck of dust in history. It is also the loving tribute to all the beauty man is capable of creating (and its chaos, but that’s another story…).
I think about it every time I drive my children to school, passing in front of the Circo Massimo and the Palatine, with the city’s extraordinary skyline on the horizon. For those reasons alone, I can think of no better place to host an event dedicated to artistic perfumery and literature.
This first edition of the Aromata Award, called “Perfume: Expressive Code” was held this year from 16-18th May in the exquisite Spazio Sette bookshop based inside the jaw-droppingly beautiful Palazzo Cavallerini Lazzaroni, a stone-throw away from the Via del Corso and Largo Argentina. (https ://www.instagram.com/spaziosette_libreria)
Under the auspices of the Cultural Councilor of the Municipality of Rome, the award was an open call to all perfumers, novice or experienced, independent or working for a composition house, to submit their olfactive creations based on a literary work of art.
This first edition’s theme was around the idea of what is is “invisible between the lines”, what is left unsaid, a journey dedicated to the link between the written word and its oflactive translation. There were 17 submissions, one of which one was a solid perfume in an amulet, which I didn’t have the good fortune of smelling when I met a few days ago with Laura Amato and her friend Erica Lehmann, both founders of the Association LiberoStile (behind the Aromata Award) to discover their submissions.
Some houses were familiar to me, such as Masque Milano or natural perfume brand April Aromactics, but most were not. There were two prizes awarded: the prize of the jury, composed by industry insiders and specialists such as perfumer and brand owner (4160 Tuesday) Sarah McCartney (whom you can see testing the “sillage” of the entries on her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6qoVNOoRP6/?hl=en), Maria Celeste Lombardo, perfumer at Italian composition house Moellhausen or Professor Giuseppe Squillace, historian of perfume in the ancient world and renowned author.
The prize of the jury was awarded to the Masque Milano’s entry called White Whale, obviously based on the Herman Melville’s master piece Moby Dick. A very orginial and unexpected rendition of a marine smell, more focused on ambergris and its mineralic and animal facets than on an out-and-out traditional marine scent based around aromachemicals such as calone. In a nutshell, it’s nothing like Cool Water and Aqua di Giò, the 1990s marine scents that symbolised that decade. The noticeable inclusion of osmathus absolute manages to add both sweetness and fruitiness that is always kept in check, while linking to the animalic aspect of ambergris that is the foundation of the perfume. Very well done, although personally, I can’t say that smelling it blind I would immediately think of Moby Dick to be honest but such is the magic of personal inspiration.
The second prize, the prize of the public, was awarded to a young graduate from the Atteneo dell’Olfatto, a new reality on the Italian scene that acts both as a provider of raw materials, a composition house and training center for aspiring perfumers. The scent is credited to Edoardo Tacconi (perfumer) and Claudio Calafiore (creative diector). Based on Shakespear’s play Midsummer Night’s Dream, the perfume is called Di Mezza Estate, and is a pleasant, playfully fruity and powdery floral scent that is easy to like and I can see how it would seduce a crowd. Veering in the direction of a gourmand scent, with the inclusion of milk and almond notes, it just manages to stay sufficiently restrained to avoid the sugar overload trap.
The other entry from Ateneo dell’Olfatto called Ecclisi (so no, not based on the Twilight saga..) was created by Giulia Riccardi and is the polar opposite. Based on the Portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, it is a smokey and bewitching scent, evocative of oak panelled rooms and cigars being smoked by the fireplace. I give it top marks for successfully translating a book in scented form.
Meditation by Claudia Scattolini, is dedicated to the writings of Ernest Hemingways and the lore and magic of his tumultuous life. Unsurprisingly, given what we know of the writer, the scent features notes of leather, tobacco, rum, patchouli and cocoa, lightened by some jasmine and bergamot. An envelopping and warm perfume, suprisingly smooth..
Dickens in Varanasi by Then There is a woody spicy scent. It is the unusual meeting point the brand creator has made between Varanasi in India and the atmosphere of Dickens’ novel Great Expectations.. An intriguing connection that once again underlines how scent is the gateway to infinite immaginative possibilities. In my view, a beautiful rendering of an incense scent that I would quite happily wear. Mystical and meditative so, for me, more Varanasi than Dickens…
There were other beautiful scents but smelling them all in short succession, I cannot do them justice in one article. All of them were intriguing, all of them made me think of the possible link with the text that inspired their creation.
This prize (Aromata) is really for the perfume and book lovers, for those who value creativity, the power of imagination and artistic licence. Aromata is also the tribute to two women who have been friends since childhood, Laura and Erica, and who have pooled their passion and know-how to create this beautiful event. Let us all help it develop and grow. I for one am excited about next year’s edition!
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