As has become my tradition I spend the last day of 2019 considering what I hope to see in 2020.
Even though you won’t count me among them I’d like to see more who comment on perfume make the leap to creative direction. One thing this past year has shown me is those who used to be out here in the interwebs can become outstanding creative directors of their own perfume. The key ingredient is putting in the work to do your vision justice. If you need examples of how to do it right Victor Wong of Zoologist, Arielle Weinberg of Arielle Shoshana, or Barbara Herman of Eris Parfums all made some of the best perfumes of 2019 by working hard at getting it right. If you need an example of how not to do it just check out the discount sites. It proves cynicism about fragrance doesn’t only exist in the mass-market sector.
I want even more innovation and boundary busting from the independent perfume community. This one will come off as ungrateful because after a boring 2018 I asked the indies to step it up. If you look back over my Best of 2019 lists, you know I think they did that in a big way. I saw new ideas in aquatics, gourmands, animalic, and chypres all arise from this group of creative minds. I know there must be some ideas for other style-busting concepts percolating out there. Bring them out for 2020. Or in the words of Oliver Twist, “Please sir, I want some more.”
More about the perfume making process from the perfumers. One of the things I’ve enjoyed a lot has been the willingness of many of the independent perfumers to find a way to communicate about their process. Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux adds a “Scent Notes” blog post accompanying many of his new releases. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has gotten more interactive as she hosts a weekly Facebook Live where she talks about her perfumes and takes questions live. There are so many ways to remove some of the mystery of perfume making while inviting us in I’d like to see others take advantage of it.
My final wish is for someone to put together a U.S.-Based version of the great Italian perfume expositions. Esxence and Pitti Fragranze are places to be seen on the perfume calendar every year. Nothing similar exists in the US. With the vital American independent perfume community plus New York as one of the world capitals of perfume this should exist. Not sure who I am asking to take the lead on this, but I hope someone gives it a try.
As always, I appreciate everyone who takes the time out of their day to read my words. Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s all step into 2020 full of optimism for another great year of perfume.
–Mark Behnke
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