Fragrance is powerful. It has the ability to transport its wearer to a bygone memory. Whether it’s your childhood backyard or the powdery scent of your grandmother’s lipstick, it is linked to our subconscious. This notion is explored in Gucci’s latest fragrance Mémoire d’une Odeu. Of course, Alessandro Michele put his own twist on the story. For this chapter, he wanted to create an olfactory journey which wasn’t linked to gender and where time doesn’t follow a chronological order.
Calling upon master perfumer Alberto Morillas, Mémoire d’une Odeu has established a new olfactive family for this story. Introducing Mineral Aromatic. Roman chamomile is the hero ingredient in this blend partnered with Indian coral jasmine petals for lightness and precious musk for added depth. Noble woods including sandalwood and cedarwood round off the scent bringing a warmth to the mix. “The musky mineral accord is the keystone of the fragrance: it links all the other olfactive elements together with pure softness,” explains Morillas.
Arriving in a clear green flacon with a heavy gold cap, Michele was inspired by a vintage Gucci fragrance bottle. “The packaging comes from the past, inspired by an old Gucci perfume from the early 90s. I didn’t want the bottle to take on a shape or size that is too feminine or too masculine because the perfume could be very much for women or very much for men,” Michele says.
This notion was carried through to the campaign. “The guiding element of the entire campaign is the idea of freedom; the idea of the non-era, the non-place, the non-social. I pictured a world that was a fresco of a ‘mythological’ life in which the family is a private community with its own social framework where total freedom of expression prevails and where the roles of people and things aren’t clear. I pictured the memory of an authentic memory,” explains Michele. Singer, songwriter, and actor Harry Styles is joined by an eclectic mix of characters. Picnicking and dancing around in the countryside outside of Rome, the campaign stays true to Gucci’s message of pushing for and celebrating diversity in the industry.
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