‘I have to say, I used to think people who are crazy about natural perfume are the kind of people who rubbed rocks on themselves or something,’ says Amy Smilovic, creative director of the New York-based clothing brand Tibi.
‘Rock deodorant,’ Francis Shoemaker, founder of Abel, clarifies, as we sit in the Paris showroom that will soon host the launch party for the duo’s new fragrance.
‘But once I started wearing Abel, I realised that natural fragrances could be something completely different,’ says Tibi.
Abel has indeed made itself something of a revolutionary in the world of fragrance by using 100 per cent natural ingredients to create perfumes that are as complex, long-lasting and appealing as their synthetic counterparts (ie, most fragrances on the market today). Through a specialised fermentation process, the brand transforms plant sugars into scent molecules, which are then constructed into niche perfumes by master perfumer Isaac Sinclair. Rock deodorants, these are not.
Shoemaker and Sinclair teamed up to create a scent for Tibi that reflected the brand’s philosophy of ‘creative pragmatism’, or clothes that combine everyday utility with a unique, creative sensibility. It’s that contrast – between ease and inventiveness, minimalism and a slight edge – that the pair sought to recreate in fragrance form.
To do that, Sinclair started with a heart of paper and vetiver. ‘The paper gives it a freshness and the vetiver a woodiness,’ he says. ‘So we were lucky to [hit on] that combination right from the beginning because it created the contrast we were looking for. Then it was just a question of kind of filling it out.’
The ingredients filling it out include yerba mate from South America for a soft, herbaceous quality; timut pepper from Nepal for a sharp, almost spicy quality; and grapefruit for additional freshness. The final result is bright and clean, like skin fresh out of the shower, but with the added complexity of the woody vetiver.
For Shoemaker and Smilovic, the process of conceptualising the fragrance was an effortless one. To start, Smilovic brought Shoemaker a selection of perfumes she had worn herself over the years to give Shoemaker a sense of taste and preferences. From there, the Abel team spent two years working on the formulation without the pressure of a tight deadline, perfecting it until they hit on a scent that felt modern and easy to wear, in the same vein as the clothes Smilovic designs. The final result is a fresh fragrance with a unique woody undertone that challenges the expectations of what a natural fragrance can be.
