A journey through contemporary scent at Somerset House exhibition

Published: 5-Apr-2017

London’s Somerset House is the place for perfume lovers and fragrance consultants to be this summer with a unique fragrance spectacular

The multi-sensory show, which starts on 21 June, will present ten extraordinary perfumes – and the pioneering perfumers who created them – from the past two decades that have changed perceptions of scent today. There will be a working laboratory to see up close the skill and science behind making a scent and to teach the art of perfumery as well as its historical journey.


Changing Scents

There is an emerging group of creatives pushing perfumes into more daring olfactory and cultural directions and challenging the classic definitions of fragrance, from Antoine Lie’s ode to sensual pleasure, Sécrétions Magnifiques, to Geza Schoen’s Molecule 01, which uses only one ingredient to enhance the wearer’s natural pheromones.

The ten pivotal perfumes challenge the long-held conventions of fragrance – from creation and communication to gender and good taste – and encourage change in the mainstream market. Self-taught perfumers are building independent brands and classically trained ones are coming to the fore from corporate anonymity to work on their own creative commissions or to launch their own labels.

These perfumers are reworking their ingredients palette to construct original and outrageous signatures, which assault all of the senses with surprising, sometimes unattractive and unsavoury smells such as mould, sweat or semen. The cognitive senses are evoked with unexpected landscapes or landmarks in time and place.

These alternative scents are also designed without gender. They are intended for introspective enjoyment and exploration, rather than to attract others or mask odour.

The perfume provocateurs are leaving behind the glossy advertisements. Instead, they are opening up to a global online community, allowing them to provide insights into perfume processes, celebrate their craft and engage in dialogue or even take inspiration from their customers. It offers a much more accessible approach to understanding perfumery, unlike anything seen before.


A journey through contemporary scent at Somerset House exhibition

The Fragrance line-up

Conceived and curated by Claire Catterall, Senior Curator at Somerset House, and co-curated by Lizzie Ostrom, also known as Odette Toilette, the perfumes and perfumers at the exhibition will include:

Sécretions Magnifiques by Antoine Lie for État Libre D’Orange (2007)
One of the most notorious scents of the 21st century, Sécretions Magnifiques was created to provoke ‘the pinnacle of sexual pleasure’ with smells of semen, sweat, pumping blood and saliva – notes never seen before in a fragrance – and designed to be divisive.

Molecule 01 by Geza Schoen for Escentric Molecules (2005)
Molecule 01 made synthetic molecules desirable and sexy rather than an industry dirty secret. Schoen presents a ‘single aroma chemical’ – Iso E Super – which fans believe enhances their own skin scent. It is adored and addictive to those that can smell the aroma; many are unable to detect it at all and think it is all a myth.

Purple Rain by Daniela Andrier for Prada Olfactories (2015)
While Purple Rain was purposefully not given a familiar flower name and Andrier remains evasive about the full fragrance notes, it is an iris-based scent – a recurring theme in Andrier’s work. The scent of iris was popular in early to mid-20th century perfumes and Andrier has led a modern renaissance of the flower in fragrances, with a twist on the traditional.

El Cosmico by David Seth Moltz for D.S. & Durga (2015)
David Seth Moltz is a Brooklyn-based perfumer, known for drawing on American history and geography in his liquid language. His unusual methodology includes investigating and interpreting a landscape in minute detail, much like a topographer, to serve up a striking representation of a scene. El Cosmico is an olfactory representation of the cult campground of the same name, situated in the tiny Texan town of Marfa and described as “the biggest little art town”.

Charcoal by Lyn Harris for Perfumer H (2016)
Founder of Perfumer H Harris has brought a new edge to British perfume, pioneering the use of naturals back into perfumery. Charcoal marks Harris’ talent for finding beauty in the raw elements of life and nature. The perfume provides a simulation of charcoal through a meticulous balance of wood, resins and balms – including cade, cistus abs, juniper, cedar, patchouli and frankincense – creating something familiar yet unexpected with this olfactory combination.


Exploring Perfume

The exhibition will begin with a brief overview of the origins of modern perfumery and an introduction to the historical innovators of the industry, from Chypre de Coty (1917) – often cited as a first of its kind and the reference point for numerous 20th-century perfumes – to CK One (1994), the original shared fragrance that led the ‘clean’ scent trend.

The exhibition will also explore the modern movement and focus on the ten trailblazers that are inspiring and influencing the perfume industry today. Each perfume and its perfumer will have a dedicated space in the galleries so visitors can truly immerse themselves into the stories of the scents and have the freedom to contribute their personal interpretation.

It will also feature a fully functioning and open perfume laboratory, where visitors can engage with professional perfumers, seeing up close the skill and science of the perfumer and even trying their own hand at it.

There will be an extensive events programme alongside the exhibition, which will be announced in spring, as well as exclusive exhibition tours that can be arranged in addition to any private event hosted within Somerset House.

The exhibition will run from 21 June to 17 September 2017 at Somerset House and tickets will be available at somersethouse.org.uk.

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