Ralf Schwieger is the Department of Olfactory Art's (at the MaD Museum in NYC) first Artist in Residence. During Ralf’s residence, which is described on the museum’s website here and here , he will publicly create a work of olfactory art in the 6th Floor’s beautiful glass-walled Artist Studios. Every raw material synthetic and natural is there for the Museum’s visitors to smell, as well as every mod. Visitors are interacting freely with Ralf, asking him questions (most of which he says he’s found, a bit to his surprise, quite interesting; we have smart visitors) and smelling his work.
Chandler Burr, the curator of the exhibition and art director of this project, asked Schwieger to work on an idea of ginger and another idea of spearmint.
Each week, Ralf is taking the most promising mod, printing it out, and putting its complete formula on the wall so that visitors are able to watch the work as it evolves.
Ralf is in residence every Thursday.
What possessed Givenchy to create two fragrances in 1957, the well known L'Interdit and the less known Le De, both inspired from and originally intended for Audrey Hepburn? In retrospect, though both elegant, delicate enough florals of immense clarity to reflect the tameness of the 1950s in terms of perfume expectations and societal mores and therefore suited to the "nice girl" elegance of Hepburn herself, the commercial supremacy of one over the other has left Le De in the twilight. It's perhaps telling that Bette Davis, no spring chicken when Le De became available in 1958 ~the actress was hitting 50, well into maturity by the standards of the time~ chose to wear the ill-fated one. Le De remains today a snapshot of how women used to smell, ladylike and in pearls, and even in the re-orchestrated re-issue that the company launched in 2007, seems a captive of time in one way or another.
The oddly named Le De is a reference to the particle of nobility in Hubert de Givenchy's name. In 1952, at the age of 24, Givenchy opened his own design house on 8, rue Alfred de Vigny in Paris introducing it with the "Bettina Graziani" collection, named after Paris's top model at the time. He had a tight budget and only three staff working in a room loaned to him by friend and mentor couturier Cristobal Balenciaga.
The landmark of Givenchy's style, and the contrast to his more conservative contemporary Christian Dior, was innovativeness: The revolutionary use of cheaper fabrics employed in designs that intrigued with their aesthetic viewpoint, instead of their bourgeois luxury (influenced no doubt by Balenciaga), and his "separates", instead of the more standard option of dresses. Audrey Hepburn, later the most prominent champion of Givenchy's fashion (and to many the fashion plate whose image both benefited from and inspired him in equal measure), met the French designer in 1953 during the shoot of Sabrina. He had mistakenly thought he was going to meet and dress Katherine Hepburn...An immediate friendship was forged over this misunderstanding and Hubert went on to design almost all the wardrobes she wore in her movies, prompting him to later say that "Audrey's image is associated with my name". She never failed to note that "Hubert gave me self-confidence. In one of his suits with the beautiful buttons I can forget my shyness and talk in front of 800 people". Their friendship lasted till her untimely death.
Le De came about when Hubert chose decided to gift his friend with a perfume; actually he commissioned two, the other being L'interdit (created in 1957 and commercialized in 1964) and they were hers alone for a whole year. In 1958 the idea of launching perfume under the aegis of his house saw Le De being introduced to the market while L'Interdit was immortalised in another classic Audrey Hepburn film, Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Comparing vintage and modern Le De Givenchy
The vintage edition of Le De comes across as a strange floral etude in the lineage of Le Dix de Balenciaga, with the violet note treated in a non sweet manner, contrary to all confectionary and makeup references that violets usually translate to perfumery. Instead the astringency of the violets gains soapy and powdery nuances (thanks to orris and rose) presenting the suds and puffs of a beauty ritual through the sheer panel of a light filter. There is no natural reference, just abstraction. The narcissus essence is laced with the impression of a horse's sweat, segueing into a musky feminine aura that is lived-in contrasting nicely with the general "groomed" effect. It is subtle enough that you won't catch it unless you're looking for it.
In 2007 a re-issue of Le De Givenchy was launched under the auspice Les Mythiques, a homage collection to the classics in the Givenchy line. The modern Le De is a play on humid floralcy. A dewy floral would theoretically appeal to modern sensibilities, even though this style had commercially expired by the time that the company thought about launching it. The violet is subdued and a "clean" orange blossom and lily of the valley are making it approachable and familiar. The structure recalls a woody musky floral and sillage and projection remain low-key, though perfectly calibrated to function as a constant halo. As of time of writing, the modern Le De is still available from Harrods.
How to Differentiate Different Editions
The original Le De Givenchy was introduced in 1957. The vintage bottle has rounded shoulders and is following the classic mould common for L'Interdit as well. It was available in eau de toilette and extrait de parfum. The 2007 re-issue of Le De Givenchy in Les Mythiques line is encased in a lilac box with the logo of Givenchy repeated in the design motif of the packaging. The bottle in frosted glass, tall, with sparse lines and sharp shoulders. EDIT: My reader Lily notes that there is an update on the Les Mythiques 2007 edition, introduced in 2011, with slight differences in the packaging, although I haven't come across it in person. If anyone can describe the differences and whether there's a change in scent I'd be happy to include the info.
Notes for the vintage Le De Givenchy:
Top notes are coriander, mandarin orange, tarragon, bergamot and brazilian rosewood
middle notes: carnation, lilac, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and rose
base notes: sandalwood, amber, musk, oakmoss and guaiac wood. Notes for the 2007 Les Mythiques Le De Givenchy:
Top notes: coriander and lily-of-the-valley
middle notes: jasmine, ylang-ylang and bulgarian rose
base notes: sandalwood, vetiver and incense.
Fashion house Marni will be launching its very first scent in February 2013 called "Marni".
Marni’s creative director Consuelo Castiglioni told WWD: “It’s a perfume that’s quite individual, that doesn’t evoke anything in particular. It’s for a woman who dresses for herself, who doesn’t follow trends but is sophisticated and also maybe a little eccentric.”
The fragrance looks to be "a blend of spicy and wood notes" that will probably appeal to the women who are bored of fruity florals, yet require something that will not disrupt their entourage too much. Perhaps this doesn't mesh with Marni's edgy sophistication or perhaps it might, it remains to be smelled.
Raquel Zimmermann at any rate has already been photographed by Nick Knight for the ad campaign, as shown above.
The full fragrance range will include purse spray, body lotion, and body cream as well as the standard eau de parfum and eau de toilette.
Perfumer Anya McCoy and president of the Natural Perfumers' Guild brought to my attention a charitable cause that targets the victims of Superstorm Sandy involved in the perfumery and aromatherapy craft. The inspiration for organizing this came to her
after reading a New York perfumer's account of her studio being destroyed by the storm. As a repeat hurricane 'victim' living in Miami, Anya identified and empathized with those whose lives are disrupted by Sandy.
You can find the full details on how to participate in Perfumers' Relief Aid on this link.
As appearing in the Blogdorf Goodman catalogue, priced at 270$, the new Les Parisiennes addition is called L'heure de Nuit and it is a Thierry Wasser re-interpretation of Guerlain classic L'Heure Bleue (composed by perfumer Jacques Guerlain) . The classic L'Heure Bleue celebrates its 100th year anniversary this year and the team at Guerlain chose to celebrate with both a limited edition bottle (as shown on this link) and an Eau de Parfum re-orchestration as shown above. The new edition will be available in January 2013 and like all Les Parisiennes editions to be sold in Guerlain boutiques and wherever there are "espaces Guerlain", i.e. Blogdorf Goodman in NYC, the Epcot in Florida, in Las Vegas at the Bellagio, in Harrods in London etc.
Regarding the composition of L'Heure de Nuit, as mentioned on these pages, Thierry Wasser offers a new version: The powdery base notes are irresistibly endearing, as the L'Heure Bleue lovers like them so much. Under his leadership, the scent is sweet, illuminated with new freshness and modernity. The white musk mingles with iris. Heliotrope is combined with orange blossom accents to make it more marshmallow-like, powdery but with a gourmand note like a veil.
The old version will be still available alongside the centenary editions in all concentrations for the fans.
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