Hussein Chalayan’s Airborne Fragrance
What’s the olfactory outcome when two avant-garde creative spirits brew a perfume? On July 21, we’ll find out as designer Hussein Chalayan launches Airborne, a fragrance collaboration with Comme des Garçons.
The unisex eau de toilette has top notes of Tunisian neroli, bergamot and lemon, grounded by juniper, musk, sandalwood, and incense.
Each ingredient has close ties to Chalayan. The designer wanted to chart his personal journey through scent, moving from Cyprus, where he was born, to London, where he went to school and established his fashion house.
The designer started with elements from his island home, the flowers, plants, and earthy smells typical of northern Cyprus. Chalayan then turned to the team at Comme des Garçons to create a perfume trajectory, a process that took nearly two years.
“I proposed an imaginary scenario as to how these ingredients could incur change during and after an air journey from Mediterranean Cyprus to a London urban setting,” Chalayan says. “These ingredients in an urban environment can become more electric or synthetic but captivating.”
The bottle and packaging reflect the raw ingredients, using a sunny image of a Cypriot coastline.
It’s a surprisingly cheerful, simple look for this high-concept brand. After all, Airborne shares its name with Chalayan’s 2007 Fall/Winter collection, which included dresses made of LED lights.
And the fragrance’s release is well-timed, as this year is shaping up to be a Chalayan landmark.
The sartorial pioneer is also launching a diffusion line, called Grey Label. Vogue U.K. reports that he may reveal this new collection at London Fashion Week in September.
A retrospective of Chalayan’s groundbreaking design opened this month at Les Arts Décoratifs museum in Paris. Rizzoli, meanwhile, is publishing a book devoted to his work.
One thing that has gotten streamlined: the label’s name. In June, the namesake designer cropped it to simply Chalayan.
Airborne debuts at London’s Dover Street Market and will then roll out to Comme des Garçons stores internationally, as well as shops that stock Chalayan’s clothing.
And check out another soon-to-launch scent.
