Creating a heat haze scent for GESTUZ
In the past months, I had the honor to work with a leading Danish fashion brand to translate their new summer season into an olfactive signature. Working with GESTUZ on their SS23 collection HEAT HAZE was a magical process and here are some personal insights. From fuckups and learnings, low-rise Miss Sixties, and what the final result actually smelled like.
What did my teens smell like?
James Devaney / Wireimage via Getty Images
Translating the creative brief from fashion into olfaction was inspiring. I felt incredibly excited with the theme they chose: hot and sweaty LA in the late 90s and early 2000s. Looking into that era was a throwback to my teenage years; a room full of Beyoncé posters (how I wish I had a photo of it) and low-rise Miss Sixty jeans. My ICQ account name was even lil-beyonce, lol.
With this inspiration I started contemplating about the materials. My olfactive memory send me to the school’s changing rooms full of vanilla and AXE deodorants and I knew I wanted to embrace the vanilla notes as one of the ultimate 90s scents.
The collaborative process began and we iterated several times. From smelling the fragrances purely to sampling multiple drafts.
© Anastacia Danger
© Anastacia Danger
© Anastacia Danger
Retro and modern raw materials
© Tanya Borodina
Each era or season has its own olfactive DNA in the collective memory. My personal association was not only my school's changing rooms but sparkly shirts and coconut tanning oils. Together with GESTUZ, we decided to follow that impulse and add a contemporary twist.
The beauty of this creation was working with materials that are very familiar and recognized in the collective conscious (e.g. vanilla and coconut) while giving them a juicy upgrade. We gave HEAT HAZE a fresh floral and lightly fruity beginning. The clean notes you associate when entering an AESOP shop for example. And with that light touch, a base in vanilla and musk notes. What remains in the base is the sexiness and sweetness without being too much to bear.
The scent was ready to be used in Copenhagen.
On-site: spraying, engaging, experiencing
On the portfolio page you can read about the chosen notes as well as the application and use of the olfactive creation.
© Tanya Borodina
© Tanya Borodina
My learnings and thoughts on cultural appreciation
One of the things I will be changing in my workflow and boundary setting is mixing on the go. I had to mix some of the drafts while traveling, which brings a big risk of lost parcels full of raw materials, leaking bottles, and not having a proper workstation. Being in Spain at day-time degrees hitting the high 30s, I was anxious about how long a parcel may be exposed to too high temperatures, making especially the natural notes oxidize much quicker. In the end, all went well but the energetic stress with shipping a parcel from Berlin to my future self in Spain was an experience I don’t recommend following.
On the contrary, the collaboration itself was beautiful and harmonic. The team had an amazing capacity at interpreting a fashion collection into scent. The creative brief I received was of such detail that I could almost smell the scent lingering on the visual mood board.
A learning here: Ask future clients for an extensive and detailed creative brief upfront.
About appropriation and cultural heritage
I lastly want to share a knowledge article by Plants and Culture about the origins of vanilla. According to Australian researchers, an enslaved boy named Edmond Albius is responsible for today’s access to the vanilla flavour:
“At the young age of twelve, Edmond Albius launched the vanilla industry and paved the way for what it is today…
In its native Mexico, Vanilla planifolia is pollinated by a specific genus of bees. So, in the 19th century, when Europeans removed these plants from their native pollinators (in an attempted to create a vanilla industry in their colonies), they could not get these transplanted vanilla orchids to reproduce… until Edmond.
Edmond 'must be credited for essentially providing the key for the vanilla industry not just in Réunion, but in other French colonies and islands like Madagascar—currently the main global exporter of vanilla’ (Melbourne)
(find the Instagram summary here)
Edmond pollinated a vanilla vine that hasn’t been producing any vanilla pods in over 22 years. Edmond traveled around plenty of French colonies to share knowledge with other workers and grow an industry known today. While he was freed from slavery, he never received any monetary remuneration for his incredible work and discovery.
This scent is dedicated to Edmond.
And now, photos, darlings:
© Tanya Borodina
© Tanya Borodina
Thank you to Sille for magically finding each other. Thanks to the whole GESTUZ team, Maria, Zenia, and Evgenia, who put all their feedback and excitement into the process. And also ultimately founder and creative director Sanne Sehested for seeing potential in this creative collaboration.
And thank you Tanya and Anastacia for the visual foundation, communicating this collaboration so well.
Check out the portfolio page, describing what exactly the scent was made for and all the well-dressed guests getting engaged.
