Evening Events – Fragrance Fashion Show, Interview with Fred Naraschkéwitz
6. September 2018
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
from 18:00 – 21:00 hrs in Foyer 3
Can a fragrance change your perception of clothing?
It is a beguiling synergy when a woman combines a colorful, flowing dress with a feminine, floral fragrance. The dress is amplified in the intensity of perception. It addresses the sense of smell and vision.
In the same way, it can also lead to a rift between look and scent. This can have a negative or positive effect: Imagine you are sitting in a café and an elegantly dressed gentleman comes in. The suit fits perfectly, hair and beard are trimmed, shoes freshly polished. He passes your table emanating a smell of cold tobacco smoke, garlic and a hint of aquatic aftershave. Nobody will turn around after this man. The unobtrusive young woman in a grey sweater, leggings and sneakers who sits down next to you on the train. Here, a delicate bouquet of blossoms, fine wood and a hint of spearmint chewing gum will instantly attract sympathy. We like or dislike the smell of someone – the credibility of a person and his or her look are either manifested or destroyed by a scent.
From your point of view, are there fashion trends for fragrance as for clothing, and if so, which ones?
Yes, there are also trends in the world of fragrance, but these follow rules, which are different to fashion trends that seasonally trickle into the market as new collections.
At the dawn of major fashion houses in the early 20th century, the fragrances were intended as statements that helped in recognizing a brand. The scents were „edgy“.
Since the middle / end of the 20th century, extensive market research programs have also been run in order to develop the right scent for the customer. The task is to sell large amounts of perfume in the most risk-free way possible. Thanks to marketing campaigns, there are hypes around a number of fragrances.
We have seen a new trend since the 2000s. It is about individuality and gender fluidity. Triggered by trendsetters, It Girls and musicians, social media and its influencers, which create their own perfumes (or have them created for them). Niche fragrances for unconventionality. Perfumes to compose yourself for individuality. Scents which used to be considered „typically male“, and which contain musk and wood flavours, are now worn by women. Scents termed as „typically female“, with floral fragrance nuances can now increasingly be found in male scents.
Currently we are finding many parallel trends (co-trends) on the market, such as floral to oriental and oud to aquatic.
Fashion, scent and eroticism. Does this combination play a crucial role in human perception?
Our biology leaves us no other choice but to react to sexual stimuli. Looking at certain body shapes and areas that are hidden, revealed or accentuated by fashion, awakens primordial instincts. The same goes for scents. A smell that we absorb is conducted directly to the olfactory center of our brain. The sense of smell is the most complex chemical sense and dependent on factors we have little control over, such as the hormone status (pheromones), social background, memories and personal experiences of the individual. The human being stores fragrances with the help of personal experiences and thus expresses preferences or aversions for certain scents.
This is what makes the task of creating a fragrance so complex.
You created a male perfume especially for this event. What are its basic notes?
Amberlin is a monolithic signature fragrance that starts right at the heart note.
A modern interpretation of amber, which very clearly and neatly forms a synergy with the oakmoss. Floral aspects and a delicate spiciness due to the saffron give the fragrance its distinctive touch.
What do you expect from SEPAWA’s „Fragrance Attack“?
From year to year, the SEPAWA as a platform and meeting place of the perfume, soap and detergent manufacturer enjoys an ever-increasing popularity. In addition to exhibition stands, an exchange of information and fascinating lectures, this year for the first time, the „Fragrance Attack“ was launched. As a leading perfume house with headquarters in Germany, we present our latest fragrance creations from the field of Fine Fragrances in conjunction with a fragrance-inspired fashion collection. A little glamor on the SEPAWA conference, which is otherwise focused on technical applications, is ushering in a new era here. A breeze, or as in this case, a cloud of perfume of fresh citrus notes, exotic flowers, fine woods and beguiling musk which is in the air and breezes through the corridors and halls of the SEPAWA.
We from FREY&LAU are very pleased indeed to be able to contribute to this event
Fred Naraschkéwitz
Head of Perfume Frey & Lau GmbH