Encounter with a perfume icon1:05
Encounter with a perfume icon1:05
Shalimar is an iconic perfume. But why is it relevant today?
Successful cultural products blend familiar and novel elements. On the one hand, consumers relate to scents that remind them of others they like. On the other hand, they also appreciate the unexpected pleasure of the new. Depending on the overall position of the scent, the actual relatedness of a perfume can vary from that which is entirely derivative of an existing scent, to that which is clearly building on an existing scent, to that which is predominantly original but shows subtle references to an existing scent. This video captures the moment when a modification reminds Christophe of Shalimar, a great perfume created by Jacques Guerlain in 1921. Its story is part of the wider social and cultural matrix in perfumery. Accordingly, the composition was inspired by Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahal, a 17th century emperor of India. Traditionally, the imitation or matching of an iconic perfume serves as a method of learning the craft. In this situation the sudden connection to Shalimar prompts Christophe to return to the formula. To his surprise, the formula is rather different from Shalimar’s. Yet, the scene documents the remaining influence of an historical icon for cultural production.