BEAUTY BAZAAR Lime Basil & Mandarin, £86 for 100ml Jo Malone passion for perfume yields some of the phenomenally successful CK One in unusual alliances. Who would imagine 1994 that genderless perfume returned to that Marlene Dietrich and James Dean the fore. As Edwards notes: ‘After the shared a scent – the libidinous Knize Eighties – that era of big hair and big Ten – still less Colette, Brigitte Bardot, Jackie Kennedy and Jack fragrances – it was the genius of Calvin Klein Nicholson, united in their love for Guerlain’s civet-rich Jicky? to introduce those who hadn’t grown up Yet fragrance was gender-fl uid long before fashion, beauty and with the idea to the notion of shared scent.’ cultureA at large caught up. Whether in the glory years of Creed The rise of artisanal perfumes increased and Caron, the creations of Frédéric Malle, this interest. Men and women alike wallow or commercial hits such as Dolce & in the enveloping orris of Byredo’s 1996, Gabbana’s Velvet collection, everywhere Boy Capel and and Le Labo’s airy Bergamote 22. Bertrand there is evidence of a non-binary approach. Coco Chanel Duchaufour, the perfumer and co-creator of Personally, I have always been as appar- Project Renegades, explains: ‘When I create ently masculine in my perfume taste as I a fragrance I think of it as a piece of art. am unashamedly feminine in dress: the I never look at it as male or female. Fragrance two creating an enchanting juxtaposition. expresses emotion, which is gender-fl uid.’ Where once this was considered provoca- Leo Crabtree, the founder of Beaufort tive, so today those who smell me barely London, concurs: ‘It seems archaic, and bat an eyelid. Meanwhile, ‘men’s’ scents even a little patronising, for brands to dictate have become softer, sweeter, less abrasive what is masculine and what is feminine. Our and ‘women’s’ are looking beyond the perfumes are designed with the individual, bouquet. The discerning ignore such cate- not their gender, in mind.’ Witness Tonnerre, gorisations: Sarah Jessica Parker’s latest Beaufort London’s incredible evocation of venture, Stash – an aromatic wood evoking the Battle of Trafalgar: a fl ash of smoke and leather and cognac – is billed as ‘a fragrance gunpowder, with a note of seaspray. for humans’; Maison Margiela’s Replica Great houses have always embraced collection is ‘gender-anonymous’. the universal. Hence Creed fi nd- Michael Edwards, the author of the ing fans among timeless fi gures Fragrances of the World guidebooks and databank, reports that, while including Sigmund Freud, Win- there were a mere 50 unisex launches in 2000, by 2016 there were ston Churchill, David Bowie, 830. Despite chiming with society’s growing fascination with gender Michelle Obama, Madonna and CK All, £40 identity, this, in fact, marks a return to form, as, before the 20th for 100ml the Queen. Hermès’ scents have century, perfume was traditionally viewed as gender-neutral. Calvin Klein long been co-ed, its latest, Galop James Craven, the perfume archivist for Les Senteurs, considers d’Hermès, being bought as enthusiastically by both genders. the game changer to have been Caron Pour Un Homme in Chanel’s Cuir de Russie, Sycomore and Jersey feature ravishingly 1934: ‘The fi rst designated male fragrance, setting in motion ambidextrous qualities, while Boy is an androgynous, sweatily salty the whole marketing malarkey of scents for Him and for Her.’ fougère, named after Chanel’s lover, Boy Capel. Edwards sees the pivotal moment as the release of Brut in 1964. Guerlain’s nose, Thierry Wasser, may just have created a ‘femi- Either way, it became commercially convenient to demarcate fra- nine’ fragrance – the creamily fl oral Mon Guerlain; however, he grances into gender stereotypes, not least rejects such designations: ‘Scent has no sex. It’s a convention, and where a single marketing concept could be we know how to play within the constraints. But, for Mon Guerlain, translated into two purchases. I added lavender, which is traditionally “male”, associated with the There were signs of resistance: Jo barbershop. Says who? The more educated the public becomes, Malone’s Lime Basil & Mandarin in 1991 the less trapped it is by categories. Perfume is purely for you, and you and the work of Serge Lutens and Dip- must make your own decisions without gender as a barrier.’ tyque. However, it was not until the advent Parco Palladiano III, Uomo Acqua, £190 for Mon £77 for 125ml 100ml Guerlain, Valentino £45 for Bottega at Selfridges 50ml Veneta Green Irish Guerlain Tweed, Velvet Cypress, £170 for £165 for 50ml 75ml Creed Dolce & Gabbana at Harrods Eau des Merveilles Bleue, £72 for 50ml Hermès FLOWERS BY ACHILLEA FLOWERS (WWW.ACHILLEAFLOWERS.COM). FLOWERS ACHILLEA BY FLOWERS STUDIOS GRAHAM WALSER/HEARST AND PISIOLEK KAT STILL-LIFES: www.harpersbazaar.co.uk May 2017 | HARPER’S BAZAAR | 215 document776583514601678170.indd 215 09/03/2017 16:20.