Is perfume an art form, comparable to music, sculpture or literature, or just another beauty product to be pushed onto consumers?
I guess this question is at the heart of the development, in the last twenty-five to thirty years, of what is now referred to as the “niche fragrance industry”. Far from being a fringe element, this sector now covers a sizeable portion of the market. As mentioned in previous posts (see my article in March on the other big fragrance fair in Italy, Esxcence) the very definition of “niche” is blurred to say the least.. It comprises both small artisanal brands where the perfumer/owner manages the day-to-day running of the company while also creating all of the brand’s fragrances (ex.: Bruno Fazzolari with his brand Fzotic or Andy Tauer with Tauer Perfumes) but also includes brands such as Byredo or l’Artisant Parfumeur (both owned by Puig) that are marketed as “niche” but are in reality owned by multinationals, with all that this entails in terms of strategy, financial means, objectives, etc.
So, in this murky territory, what constitutes an “artistic fragrance or an artistic perfume brand”, a term that is often mentioned but seldom explained. The Florence-based fragrance fair, Pitti Fragranze, has been trying to answer this question for more than two decades by offering a well respected forum where new and exciting brands emerge and upcoming trends and moods in the artisanal perfume world are discussed.
Unlike bigger fairs in the industry, the premium is on a very curated list of brands that is given the space and opportunity to engage with distributors and retailers, as well as a series of industry talks on new materials and trends. This year’s big installation was centred around the link that exists between sound and fragrance, a very “in” concept judging also by the number of brands that mention music as their source of inspiration. The installation offered participants the opportunity to experience a fragrance that represented “silence” and one that translated “noise” in olfactive form. Not having tried either, I can’t really comment. I’m not sure I really buy this idea but again, it’s all pretty subjective.
This year’s event was attended by 215 different brands from around the globe, of which 96 were either new or returning participants and roughly 10% emerging companies – an important aspect for buyers present at the fair who are increasingly interested in scouting and finding new original fragrances for their clients. There were numerous “themes” covered at the event, including “Mother Nature”, “Eternal Summer”, “Ancestral Ties”,etc..
I think it’s worth mentioning some of these new entries, such as Nissaba, a new brand that emphasises the land of Mesopotamia as its source of inspiration, as well as “clean”/natural heavy ingredients and a “circular economy” ethos (recyclable and refillable packaging, focused on low carbon foot print, etc. ). I haven’t had a chance to smell their perfumes but from what I have read, I’m intrigued and I applaud the responsible approach. At 160 eur a bottle (100 ml), it’s not even outrageously priced. Why Mesopotamia I am not sure (the founders don’t seem to have any link to Irak or the Middle East) and to confuse matters, their individual perfumes then take inspiration from Indonesia, Africa and other parts of the world. I mean, fine, but it’s just a bit confusing and none of the founders seem to be anything other than French, which again, is totally fine. I’m not going to get all politically correct about this and say it’s cultural appropriation, it’s just not very authentic to me.
Ghawali, is another interesting offering, this time from the UAE, that is taking the approach of going for a very high-end product, refined, curated and very polished without targeting especially a Middle East based clientele but rather a global high-end customer base. I think that if they manage to keep some authenticity as to their source of inspiration, they have the means to do something interesting.
So after a few of my initial gut reactions, instead of having the “classical” approach to reviewing a fair, looking at what’s in/what’s out, upcoming trends, or new brand discoveries, I thought I would ask an artist with a special affinity to perfume and scent to provide her take on the event. Laura Amato is a visual artist with a background as a translator and a life spent travelling the world, who decided a few years back to change the course of her life. I had an immediate affinity with her when I met her a few months ago, having myself gone through a “Copernican revolution” of sorts when I decided to change my life and study perfumery. She now focuses on creating visual and textile art, has collaborated with various galleries and will feature her work in the upcoming Rome Art Week (RAW: 21-26 October, https://romeartweek.com/it/raw/)
I asked her a few questions about herself and Pitti:
1- What led you to become an artist and what are your sources of inspiration as well as the tools/techniques you use to create?
In my family, there has always been an artistic bent: canvases, colours, brushes, spatulas and thinners all form a kaleidoscope of images and olfactory sensations that enveloped my childhood. It is only in the last ten years, however, that I have dedicated myself to painting, my evolution as a painter is in constant development, my artistic vision is based on creative freedom and supported by continuous personal research. What drives me to paint is the primary, sometimes impelling need to communicate and share in a visual trace, stories and moods. And it is precisely this story that the female figures in my paintings express through body language and the immediacy of their imperfect image. They represent the various “versions” of myself, fulfilling my mission to cherish and represent emotions through collage, acrylic colours and photographs, that are the linguistic tools with which I like to translate my visions onto canvas.
2- You are also passionate about perfume and have created, through the association you have created “Liberostile (https://liberostile.org/en) a new prize focusing on the link between literature and olfaction, the Aromata Prize. What prompted you to create this award?
I have been participating in Rome Art Week since the second edition, when I organised for the occasion, with a gallery in the Monti neighbourhood of Rome, a group exhibition dedicated to the connections between literature and painting. Exploring the connection between literature and art forms has always interested me, I am fascinated by the expression, through the various arts, of the emotions aroused by reading a novel or the charismatic figure of a character. This is the idea behind the Aromata Prize, the first of its kind in Rome, dedicated to Italian and international artistic perfumery and structured like an artist’s “call for art/call to art”. The intention is to highlight the creative aspect of master perfumers, who are, to me, all-round artists, on a par with a great painter or composer.
3- Let’s move on to Pitti, the place ‘par excellence’ of artistic perfumery, at least in Europe. It was your first time at the fair, what did you think of it and how would you define artistic perfumery?
This year was my first time at Pitti, a very rewarding experience, the atmosphere was that of a reunion of a big family: to find so many people I already knew and united by a passion for artistic perfumery was exciting. It was a joyous occasion for me and the opportunity for wonderful exchanges of view on the creative process.
4- Do you see any particular trends for emerging brands and for artistic perfumery in general?
Undoubtedly, oud and pungent woods continue to have a strong following among consumers that demand longevity from their scents, which is then reflected in the perfume offerings but I also noticed a lot of narcotic white floral scents and rich amber perfumes, so it’s a mixed bag.
5- I don’t know if you have had the chance to talk about the Aromata Prize with any brands that were present, what was their reaction?
I wanted mainly to talk about the Aromata Prize with brands that had already shown a strong interest last year but hadn’t manage to enter the competition in time. I am happy to report that after giving them a sense of how successful this first edition of the prize had been, they confirmed their enthusiasm for the project, so there should be a lot more exciting contestants this year!
6 – Do you think there is a real link between art and artistic perfumery? For instance, there are quite a few brands that are inspired by music such as Musicology, Orchestre Parfum, Note Fluide, etc., certainly a trend last year and also this year, as one of the themes of Pitti was ‘the Sound of Fragrance’. What do you see as the still “unexplored” art forms that could be a potential source of inspiration for artistic perfumery?
Music, memories, travel remain the most recurring sources of inspiration, while it seems to me that painting and literature are still among the least explored sources.
With this said, I look forward to both to discovering Laura’s creations during Rome’s Art Week and to follow closely the 2025 edition of the Aromata Prize for new and exciting literature and perfume “cross- pollination” experiments…
I will keep you posted, as usual! Until then, happy scent discoveries!
