Day 2 with Kilian: A Day of Encounters

It is a man. I am sure of it. A tall man with integrity in corduroy. He has the fingers of a pianist and speaks of politics. It is a fragrance of an intellectual man, sharp and keeping the world at a distance. Not someone you hug. Someone you would really want to discuss the world with by a fireplace with some incredible cognac though.

Two hours later he is gone. He has left a veil of something that makes me think of Santa Maria Novella or a meeting between the clergy and herbs. But the man is replaced by a woman with strong attitudes and sharp features. She takes over a room. 

She stays for about an hour. Then enters a different person. Someone more subdued but confident. Much softer though. I envision a baroness from Veneto in masculine clothes and unruly hair. I like her. 

As day turns into evening the herbs are gone. Also the sharpness. What remains is a soft warm velvety vanilla. Where did they all go?

Hommage a Byredo

Anyone interested in perfume or fashion trends for that matter has heard about Byredo or/and founder Ben Gorham. Anyone who has been in Stockholm during the last five years has probably at some point been embraced by a soft Byredo-hue as the brand’s fragranced candles and bathroom products are loved by hotels and restaurants here. I love that. Not just because a lot of places now smell great, but because it is a nice sort of token of local appreciation. Byredo has become the signature scent of the Swedish capital.

However, as you might have noticed, not only Swedes love Byredo. Sweden is in fact not even one of the larger markets, both the US and France are stronger markets. This is probably unfortunately partly due to the fact that Sweden does not really have a tradition of fine perfumery. People are super-clean, yes, Swedes smell like freshly washed laundry. We have great teeth and saunas everywhere. Perfumes sell, but there is no luxury perfume culture to talk about. Now, in post-Gorham Sweden perhaps, in some places. But generally, no. There are some of us who would gladly spend our lives changing that though. (Thus this blog for example). 

So. What’s so cool about Byredo? 

One thing is definitely the ability to combine the traditions and heritage of fine perfumery with a very contemporary twist. Not to forget that everything about Byredo is extremely aesthetic, with a graphic profile that has been carefully created to communicate elegance but not steal the fragrance’s voice. The company works with storytelling around the fragrances, ingredients and around Ben Gorham. This is something that could be done even more I think. It is very refreshing to see perfume rhetorics that are not just empty clichés. 

There is also something about the brand and communication, and the business that is dynamic and interesting. In the first couple of years most of what you heard about Byredo had to do with collaborations, for example with Acne (also Swedish) and hotels. The collaboration-theme has continued with Fantastic Man being one of the best examples. One of the first places to sell Byredo was Colette in Paris, a result of Ben contacting them to ask if they wanted to have a coffee and see his products. 

From the beginning Byredo’s founder Ben Gorham has been a big part of the Byredo story in media. No wonder, his background, style and character seem to made for it. Brought up in Stockholm, Toronto and New York but with roots in India. He had a career as a pro in basketball, studied architecture. Covered n tattoos, famous for his humble and kind appearance.

You sort of know this is a person who can offer some truly great conversation.

I have never met Ben but I do hope that I will have the occasion someday to talk with him about fragrances and the stories around them. Continue reading for some interesting facts about Ben and the history of Byredo, as well as some beautiful quotes gathered from various interviews.

Dazzle like it's 1925.

The 1920's were a decade that had great impact on perfumes and perfume use. In fact, this decade produced some of the most important perfumes of the entire century. One significant trend was that fashion designers started to sell perfumes under their clothing brands, the most legendary one (and quite revolutionary at the time) of course being Chanel No 5, released by Chanel in 1921. Even the bottle was a bold zeitgeist statement with a bottle design far from the ornamentation associated with feminine things. It was simple, bold and unquestionable. 

Bottle designs and the visuals around the fragrances were extremely important and often flirted with contemporary life style. There was the mascerade theme… Masque Rouge, for example, was introduced in a modern bottle, and a box with a red mask. "Mascarades" by Cherigan came in a black bottle with a golden face under a rain of gold dust and gilded triangles. Baccarat were extremely popular for bottles because of their superior quality crystal.

One of the reasons for doing a post on the 1920’s, I admit, is the occasion to indulge in…

Kleopatra

Det finns många tecken på att inte bara kajal utan även doft var en stor del av Kleopatras liv. Visst är det fascinerande att tänka sig att när Julius Caesar eller Marcus Aurelius färdats mil för att klä av sig och lägga sig i hennes bädd så vägleddes de dit av en omsorgsfullt utvald och skapad doftslöja. Att när dessa historiska män som vi känner som oförgängliga stenskuplturer tog av sig rustningen och la näsan i nacken på Nilens drottning... så omfamnades de av en doft av rosor.

Kleopatra använde gärna färska rosor. Det sägs att hon hade rosenblad i sängen och strödde dem i hela huset i väntan på sina älskare. Älskade? Älskande? Marcus Aurelius sägs ha välkomnats av Kleopatra på ett skepp med parfymerade segel och inför deras kärleksstunder badade hon i saffransvatten som skulle ge hennes hud en afrodisiakisk doft.

Sensuellt, non?

**************************

There is evidence that not only eyeliner, but also perfume, was an essential part of Cleopatra's life. Isn't it fascinating to imagine that when Julius Caesar or Marcus Aurelius travelled miles to lie down in her bed they were guided by a carefully delicately created fragrance veil. When these historical men who we know from stone sculptures and monuments took off their armor and put their nose in the neck of the Queen of the Nile... they were embraced by the scent of.... roses.

Cleopatra used fresh roses. It is said that she slept with rose petals in her bed and sprinkled them all over the house while waiting for her lovers. Her beloved. Marcus Aurelius is said to have been welcomed by Cleopatra on a ship with perfumed sails, and for their intimate nights she bathed in saffron water, which would give her skin an aphrodisiacal scent.

Sensual, non?