Italy is blessed with two of the best perfume fairs in the world and Pitti Fragranze is the one which occurs in the fall. Ever since I knew about the existence of Pitti Fragranze in Florence, Italy I have wanted to attend; for the twelfth edition I finally made it. It was a wonderful experience for me as most first times are. I will split the final wrap-up into two parts talking about some of the people and trends along with some disguised teases of things I was given sneak previews of. Tomorrow in Part 2 I’ll call out the top 10 new perfumes I tried.
The first person I met in the first minutes of my first Pitti Fragranze was Andy Tauer. It was a special delight to have the opportunity to chat with him in person. I have always considered Hr. Tauer to be one of the founders of independent perfumery. After nearly ten years of doing this he still has a beguiling passion for creating perfume which comes through even more strongly in person. It was nearly the perfect way to start my experience.
One of those independent perfumers who has helped infuse independent perfumery with a signature style is Pierre Guillaume. He was another whom I never met in person before. When we started trying his new perfumes early on Saturday morning we had a great time laughing and discussing not only his latest but a couple of things he made just for the booth. It will be hard to wear a perfume by M. Guillaume from now on without hearing his laugh and sensing the joy in his creations.
Another person I was happy to meet was Georg Wuchsa of Aus Liebe zum Duft/First in Fragrance. He has been so supportive over the years in getting samples to me I was happy to have the chance to thank him even if it was a sort of hit-and-run encounter on the last day.
When it comes to new trends one stood out very vividly to me as I worked my way around the booths. Tuberose is the new Oud. It often felt like every other brand displayed a perfume to me containing noticeable levels of tuberose. One of the reasons for that is I think the perfumer’s palette has been expanded with new extractions of tuberose which allows for wider latitude in composing with a note which can be very intense. I smelled tuberose after tuberose but I barely smelled any new ouds. Even the Zarkoperfume Oud’ish seemed to be reluctant to display its oud outwardly.
Map of the Heart Red Heart v.3
Another trend is the unique bottle is back. The redesign of the new Mona di Orio bottles fit in my hand with a weight and presence. The Pierre Dinand designed bottles for Neela Vermeire Creations gives that entire collection an elegant container for the equally opulent contents. Pierre Dinand was also the man behind what has to be my favorite bottle of the whole fair. When I was making my first circuit of the floor I was stopped dead in my tracks by a set of three heart shaped bottles by the new brand Map of the Heart. That one of these hearts also contained one of the best new perfumes of Pitti just turned it into the complete package.
Finally I did get some confidential information that I am going to share as what are called “blind items”. These are teases with most of the identifying information about who and when disguised.
One perfume brand showed me two upcoming releases one of which will take the brand in a different direction.
One perfume brand showed me the very distinct architectural inspiration for their next release and just the visual has me excited for what is to come.
One perfume brand showed me the final version of a perfume I have long been waiting to smell. It surprised me at how it was realized but the tiny area of skin it was on might have been my most sniffed patch of skin throughout the entire exhibition.
One perfume brand is going to make their take on the cologne and it is one of the best I have smelled in the Nouveau Cologne category.
Come back tomorrow for my top 10 new perfumes from Pitti Fragranze 2014.
Here are links to the live recaps of Day1, Day2, and Day3.
–Mark Behnke
