Raw, Luxe and Rich—The Chicest People I Know All Have These Perfumes in Common
If you asked me to discuss this year's best perfumes and biggest fragrance trends, I'd definitely mention luxury scents, gourmand perfumes and punchy aromas. However, a more under-the-radar trend that I've noticed over the last few months is that a lot of us want our fragrances to match our favourite fashion pieces. What do I mean by that, I hear you ask?
Much like we might slip on an oversized leather jacket to help us feel powerful and put together, we're now searching for statement leather scents to have the same effect. Similarly, when we're lounging at home in our comfy cashmere jumpers, we want those soft perfumes to wrap us up in a warming embrace.
It appears that raw-material, texture-inspired scents are gaining popularity, so I thought it was time to reach out to the experts to find out more about these fragrances. "People trust texture," says Romy Kowalewski, founder of fragrance brand 2787. "Modern perfumery works with that instinct and translates it into scent in a way that feels contemporary and direct. It is a cleaner language than symbolic notes like 'mystery' or 'romance.' Texture gives fragrance a physical anchor."
"I think it is part of the same shift we are seeing in fashion towards thoughtful investment pieces," adds Almira Armstrong, founder of niche perfume brand Atelier Lumira. "Fragrances inspired by materials tap into that world. A soft leather accord, a clean cotton or linen impression, feels like a long-term part of your personal style, in the same way a great blazer or trench becomes part of your uniform."
Below, I've asked the experts to share more on these trending scents, and I've also rounded up my top picks for some of the coolest material-inspired perfumes around this winter. I highly suggest that you keep on scrolling.
Leather Fragrances
First up, with winter in full swing, let's talk leather scents. "When we talk about leather in perfumery, we are not bottling an actual piece of leather. We are recreating an impression of it, and that impression can shift from inky and smoky to buttery and sueded, just as a patent stiletto feels different from a slouchy bag," explains Armstrong.
"At its core, leather has a duality. There is depth and darkness, often with smoky, slightly tarry or animalic facets that recall a well-worn jacket or a vintage club chair. Then there is a softness, like the inside of a suede glove, that can feel almost powdery and skin-like. Perfumers build that nuance with an accord rather than a single ingredient, using notes like woods, resins, labdanum, saffron, tobacco nuances and modern leather molecules to sketch the shape of leather without ever becoming flat or harsh."
