In my youth, I had a boyfriend who would constantly criticise what I was wearing (I know). He’d say, “Why are you wearing baggy jumpers and trainers? Why can’t you wear dresses and heels?”. It left me thinking that what women want, and what men want women to want, are two very – very different things.
This belief has been reaffirmed over and over again as I got older. Just look at Celine. From 2008 to 2018, artistic director Phoebe Philo led the brand from strength to strength. She understood women, and what women want to wear. Her clothes were simple, understated yet effortlessly elegant. They were comfortable, but their comfort didn’t compromise their style. Under Phoebe’s direction, Celine became the ultimate in womenswear, and achieved almost cult status. Then in 2018, Phoebe has stepped down and Hedi Slimane assumed the role as the new artistic, creative and image director of the brand. Hedi’s first collection for the brand was a huge departure from his predecessor with leather, mini-skirts and shimmer reigning supreme. The hashtag #oldceline went viral on social media, adopted by women worldwide as a sign of mourning for a brand that once understood them.
In many ways, it has been the same for fragrance. The industry has been largely dominated by men since its inception – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – these men are expert artists who create masterpieces in perfumery – but are men best placed to understand exactly what women want to smell like? Perhaps not. Perhaps there’s a disparity between what women want to smell like, and what men think women want to smell like? It’s for this exact reason that there’s been a surge of new female perfumers, who are creating fragrances that resonate with women for their multiple facets of femininity.
Take the new fragrance from Bvlgari, Le Gemme Coralia. It was created by master perfumer Sophie Labbé, who has perfectly encapsulated the diverse and sometimes contradictory elements of a women’s psyche. At the heart of the perfume is osmanthus, a textured scent that is both fruity and leathery notes. “It was osmanthus’s famous duality that challenged me,” she says. “There are nuances of smoked tea and leather under the sweet notes of a seemingly innocent flower – a duality between innocence and a wilder character.”
Then there’s the trio of female perfumers behind Lancôme’s latest blockbuster fragrance Idôle. Most big, money-making scents are entrusted to the oldfactory aficionados (a.k.a male, French perfumers) but Idôle’s message was all around celebrating women, with socially-aware activist and actress Zendaya as the face. And so, Malasian-born Shyamala Maisondieu, Nadege Le Garlantezec from Paris and Columbian-born Adriana Medina, fused their cultures and passions together into a universal and inclusive scent for all women.
At the centre of this fragrance is a clean accord, a notably androgynous smell of fresh linen that’s reviving, but also safe and nostalgic, and totally different from the usual floral and sweet perfumes that dominate beauty halls. “We wanted to be different and think outside the box – that’s what women want. We want to stand out from the crowd and so from the fundamental construction of this fragrance, we departed from tradition,” explains Shyamala. “We moved away from the pyramid structure of perfumery, which usually has base, middle and top notes. Instead we created a heart with the clean accord, and built it out with musk, wood and florals so that it’s complex and radiates all day long.”
See? Just what we wanted all along.
Looking for more fragrance inspiration? Discover the best perfumes to wear this Autumn here and read up all about why you should consider making your fragrance choice more sustainable.
