“Smelling this fragrance immediately jogs my memory of my childhood summers in Greece,” says the style designer on her newest collaboration, the Bvlgari Omnia by Mary Katrantzou perfume.
You know you’ve obtained a superb factor going on when realise how nicely you’re employed with somebody. That was precisely what clothier Mary Katrantzou and Mirreira Lopez Montoya, the MD of Bvlgari Accessories felt after they first labored collectively for Katrantzou’s first couture style present in Greece again in 2019. A friendship was solid, and Montoya later invited Katrantzou again to be a part of Bvlgari’s “Serpenti: Through The Eyes Of” designer sequence.
This collaboration later progressed to Katrantzou creating her very first perfume, and for Bvlgari nonetheless. The Bvlgari Omnia by Mary Katrantzou fragrance showcases how the Greek designer lends her signature contact to certainly one of Bvlgari’s iconic fragrances — exuberant, joyful, and daring.
Naturally, what might odor extra joyful than flowers? The Bvlgari Omnia by Mary Katrantzou is a floral perfume with a vibrant cocktail of mandarin, gardenia accord, and fig leaf notes. At the guts of the perfume is Gardenia, Katrantzou’s favorite flower, which Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas has blended with mandarin and fig leaves for a contact of luminosity and freshness. The ensuing scent is one that’s altogether explosive and flashy, identical to its dazzling rainbow flacon.
To discover out extra about her position in creating Bvlgari Omnia by Mary Katrantzou, we spoke to Katrantzou herself on her inspiration, the challenges she confronted in making a fragrance for the primary time, and the way she feels when smelling the perfume for the very first time.
What had been your first ideas if you had been requested to reinterpret the Omnia perfume in your personal method?I hadn’t explored the world of perfume earlier than, so it was an thrilling problem. Studying the world of Omnia and its sensible colors, I wished to search out inspiration within the rainbow as a logo of positivity and inclusion. My intention was to make use of color as a wellness software and create a perfume that’s uplifting and joyful. This collaboration made me consider much more that creativity is a power for good. A strategy to infuse optimism into our life. With it being an unsure time for most individuals, I actually wished to have the ability to have an effect on constructive change by lifting our spirit.
What had been the primary design components that you just wished to inject into the Omnia perfume?Drawing on a vibrant color palette, I used to be excited to re-invent OMNIA’s iconic infinity-shaped bottle. I re-imagined the Omnia bottle as a vase holding a bouquet of flowers, consultant of all of the totally different notes used within the scent – visually telling the story of the perfume itself.
This is the primary perfume you’ve designed — what was your inventive course of like in enterprise this new problem?When there’s a sturdy inventive marriage between manufacturers, it permits you the liberty to essentially discover your creativeness and creatively problem your self. Our whole collaboration was unorthodox because it occurred in the midst of the pandemic. I had solely met with Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas as soon as in London earlier than the lockdown and through this time we outlined the route of the scent. We talked about my childhood reminiscences, my favorite smells and mentioned my preliminary transient: to distill the rainbow right into a scent. Doing every thing completely remotely, I feel you’re taking most choices on intuition and perfume by nature could be very private. It actually heightened all our different senses that guided all the selections round this collaboration.
Why did you resolve on a floral fragrance?I consider that taking pleasure in the fantastic thing about nature and interesting in non secular pursuits is extra essential now, than ever earlier than. This is why the uplifting scent of flowers turned one of many foundations to create this perfume. To me, certainly one of life’s purest pleasures is the odor of an unforgettable bloom.
What are your first ideas when smelling this fragrance?Smelling this fragrance immediately jogs my memory of my childhood summers in Greece. When I used to be youthful, there was a good looking gardenia tree within the backyard. My mom at all times used to chop recent gardenia blooms and place them on my bedside desk. It was the primary scent I woke as much as, and the final scent earlier than I fell asleep.
What would you like individuals to really feel after they see, contact, and odor this perfume that you just’ve designed?As a creator, my hope is that by means of purposeful design, we will make the world a bit bit extra lovely and joyous. I wished to convey this message of optimism and hope girls expertise an uplifting vitality after they put on our perfume and uncover its totally different layers. I hope our addition to the Omnia household brings pleasure to girls and settles like a reminiscence into their soul.
(All photographs: Bvlgari)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.