While New York, London, Milan and Paris have been hosting (or are about to host) the autumn/winter 2013 womenswear shows, fragrance counters everywhere are unveiling their candidates for spring/summer. And while “summer” and “celebrity” have been the dominant trends of the 200-plus perfume launches that happen annually, this time two identifiable olfactory themes stand out: oud (a rich scent from the resin of the Agar tree) and nude.
Nude is so soft and subtle that you have to be up close and personal to smell it; oud is rich, sensual and, while not quite in the 1980s “enters a room before you do” category, makes an obvious statement. What gives the trends weight is that they both have not only heritage – the clean scents of Asia and the heavy perfumes of Arabia – but a modern global market dimension too.
“For 20 years, the trend has been for fruity, floral scents aimed at US and European women who prefer those toiletry-style fragrances,” says Francis Kurkdjian, one of the world’s master perfumers. “But Arabia and Asia are where the luxury markets are now, so perfumers have to adapt accordingly.”