Scents and sensibility
The hand of Philippe Starck, the enfant terrible of modern French design, has touched many products and grazed many disciplines. So it should be no surprise that Monsieur Starck is now turning to an industry that everyone from celebrities to fashion houses to automakers is looking to: fragrances.
Starck actually does have a personal history with the science of smell, so the move is logical. His mother owned a perfume shop and the young Starck growing up admits to take refuge there, feeling at home in the distinctive scents. “Because of the aromas,” he says, “the exponential sum of the perfumes, beauty creams, lotions and shampoos, I travelled through an uncharted territory filled with incredible riches.”
To create his trio of eau de toilettes – Peau de Soie, Peau de Pierre and Peau d’Ailleurs, Starck worked together with his wife and three master perfumers. For Peau de Soie – Skin of Silk – Starck worked with perfumer Dominique Ropion to create a feminine scent lighter than air and endlessly elegant. For Peau de Pierre – Skin of Stone – perfumer Daphné Bugey veers masculine with Starck for a scent that is strong, earthy and nostalgic. And for Peau d’Ailleurs – Skin of Elsewhere – Starck and Annick Ménardo go to the space in-between, for a unisex scent that is beguiling and ephemeral.
As this is Starck, the design of the bottles is paramount, manifesting is a trio of flacons that, when connected, reveal a single amoeba-like shape of perfumed liquids. Mysterious and minimalist, the Philippe Starck perfumes will be released in September 2016 under the Starck Paris label.
