Fragranze, the Pitti Immagine fair event dedicated to international selective perfumery, cosmetics and the most exclusive body care and wellness products, closed on Sunday at the Stazione Leopolda (Florence, September 10-12, 2010), confirming its role as this market segment’s most important fixture on the international scene.  Over the three days of the event, which showcased the latest ideas from 180 international brands, the number of visitors totaled 1,934, a 14% increase with respect to the last edition (there were 1,700 in September 2009).

And the final figures demonstrate the increasingly international nature of the visitors: + 30% foreign buyers making a total of 200 visitors, with excellent performances from Germany, France, Russia, Holland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine and Austria.

weiterlesen "Final report // Fragranze N.8"

The highlight on Saturday was Sissel Tolaas’ lecture. She presented her installation The FEAR of SMELL – the SMELL of FEAR at Fragranze. Tolaas had simulated in her lab sweat produced by men suffering from anxiety disorder. This smell dominated the area around her stand and contradicted the perfumes that were presented at the fair.

In her lecture the Norwegian scientist talked about smells being invisible information and the basis of all communication. She emphasized that we have to get rid of the idea what smells “good“ or “bad“. Instead we should become curious what odor communicates. In her Academy of Smell she trains people to recognize, accept and define the smell of places, things, people and emotions. She organizes a lot of workshops with children, because they have less preconceptions and learn to train their noses quickly.

How we judge smells is not genetically determined, but a culturally determined preference. Especially in the U.S. body odor is a no-no. No wonders that perfume lines like Clean are so successful.

Sissel Tolaas presented a number of projects she had realized around the globe and I was really impressed. For example she had recreated the smell of patina of coins and presented a wall that you could touch and feel “rich“.

The funniest thing was the odor analysis of a Prada coat from 1994. It still contained all kinds of smells in its fabric – from Chanel N° 5 to the flavor of an Asian restaurant.

I spent some time at the stand of Sissel Tolaas watching how visitors reacted who didn’t know at first that they were smelling male sweat. Nobody seemed to be disgusted – quite the contrary! The scents were presented in simple glass and aluminium vials. The reaction of the visitors showed that a smell which you have stored in you brain as “bad“ can change through visual presentation.

To quote Sissel Tolaas: „Nothing stinks – only thinking makes it so!“

Being asked by a journalist if she wears perfume herself she said “no“. When the journalist asked “Since when?“, she answered, “Since I was born.“ and added as if the journalist had not understood her work at all: “I am completely different.“

Florence is not only a fashion capital but also it’s the city of perfume these days! My day started with a short stopover at the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella on my way to Fragranze. At the fair I spent hours and hours sniffing new fragrances and talking to perfumers. Back in my hotel I am overwhelmed by what I have smelled today – so many new perfumes and impressions!

Fragranze is the place to be if you are interested in that „special perfume“. All important niche brands from all over the world are presenting their fragrances in the beautiful Stazione Leopolda in Florence. And all the perfumers are there in person: the gentle Keiko Mecheri, Swiss perfumer Andy Tauer, French genius Pierre Guillaume (Parfumerie Générale), the absolutely passionate Ineke Rühland (Ineke), the king of purism James Heeley (Heeley) – or the revolutionary Libertin Louison who can explain his line Technique Indiscrète with so much passion that I fell in love with each single scent. That’s what I think represents zeitgeist.

My picks of the day are:

Keiko Mecheri: the new men’s fragrance Les Zazous with woody notes, rose, lavender, amber and spices – what a wonderful scent! And I tried an older fragrance I didn’t know before and I fell in love with – Cuir Cordoba – a wonderful leather scent for both men and women with notes of suede leather, iris butter and cedar. Warm and comforting. Perfect when the days start to get chillier. In Berlin summer is over and I am thinking this could be my autumn scent.

weiterlesen "Short Cuts // Fragranze N.8"

I am looking forward to see Sissel Tolaas‘ installation and lecture The FEAR of SMELL – The SMELL of FEAR, a project/study of how odors produced by the human body can be meaningful signals of specific states of mind, such as fear. Ms. Tolaas will “display” scent molecules on special “scratch and sniff walls” that will certainly get people thinking about smells. And she will talk about her “scent education project”: training people to recognize, accept and define the smells of places, things, people and emotions.

Saturday September 11, 2010 // 12:00 – 13:00

Fragranze N.8
Stazione Leopolda
Conference Hall
Viale Fratelli Rosselli 5
50144 Firenze

www.pittimmagine.com