GO YOUR OWN WAY
With a focus on sustainability and a fresh take on florals, Giorgio Armani’s latest fragrance is redefining blockbuster scents. By Remy Rippon.
Giorgio Armani’s latest fragrance is redefining blockbuster scents.
THE DIRECTIVE WAS simple. “How can we work with tuberose so that it’s not going to smell like my grandmother’s tuberose?” recalls senior perfumer Bruno Jovanovic, of the olfactive brief designer Giorgio Armani issued for the brand’s newest scent, My Way. “That was basically what we had to work with, which is actually quite daunting when you think about it: to reinvent tuberose.”
Even for decorated ‘noses’ like Jovanovic and the fragrance’s master perfumer, Carlos Benaïm – who between them have fashioned blockbuster scents including Polo Ralph Lauren, Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb, Calvin Klein Euphoria and Jil Sander’s Jil – Mr Armani’s vision posed a challenge. While white florals – notably tuberose – are rooted in perfumery for their heady and distinguishable sillage, the duo’s latest project meant applying radical new thinking to centuries-old methods.
“We have come up with very innovative solutions for the fragrance. The whole approach was completely radical and high tech,” says Jovanovic via a Zoom call from his home in London. “It has technologically-backed innovation from top to bottom,”
While ‘high tech’ and ‘fragrance’ aren’t common bedfellows, Benaïm and Jovanovic experimented with a modern approach to familiar ingredients. Inspired by a traditional method of capturing floral essence called enfleurage, the duo were able to distill a unique freshness in the florals. “Enf leurage literally means ‘in flowering’ and at the beginning of modern perfumery you would put the flower petals in a purified grease and it would capture the aroma of the flowers,” explains Jovanovic, adding that, in lieu of grease, orange essential oil worked in much the same way. “We said: ‘why don’t we use the orange essential oil to be our new grease?’, and by extracting the beauty of the flower and petals, it will add its own freshness. It took a lot of trials and engineering to come up with something we were happy with.”
The resulting fragrance hasn’t shed all the qualities of traditional white blooms. The heart of the scent is an unmistakable bouquet of Indian tuberose and jasmine, though in accordance with Armani’s brief, Benaïm and Jovanovic dialled up the zest. “It doesn’t come on strong, which may date the fragrance … there’s some very natural fruitiness from the tuberose, so it twists the fragrance in a much more modern way,” says Jovanovic, noting the ‘Italian freshness’ that punches through those heady blooms is courtesy of a bergamot top note, while cedarwood and Madagascan vanilla round it out with a welcome earthiness.
The same innovative thinking extends beyond the juice itself. Earlier this year Giorgio Armani’s parent company L’Oréal announced its global sustainability initiative, L’Oréal for the Future, vowing to use more recyclable, reusable or compostable materials by 2030, to achieve carbon neutrality of all of its sites by 2025, and pledging a whopping 150 million euros to philanthropic social causes. The first steps towards this mighty promise can be seen in My Way’s key ingredients, which are not only sourced sustainably but also are selected with consideration of the knock-on effect to the economy and the biodiversity of the landscape. The tuberose is traceable back to a single farm in India where it’s hand-picked, and the vanilla is sourced responsibly, supporting local Madagascan communities. “It’s really about working with long-term commitments and alongside the community,” explains sustainability and strategy advisor Nigel Salter, who helped shape the brand’s initiatives. “Otherwise you can get the ingredient sustainably, but it might have a negative impact on all of the other pieces around it.”
Just as an Armani suit is designed to be worn for a lifetime, the brand is banking on your fragrance – and the glass bottle it’s housed in – having similar longevity. “The next decade is going to be all about shifting from what was called the take, make, use, waste economy,” explains Salter. “That model of consumption is definitely on its last legs.” For this reason, My Way is recyclable and boasts a ‘clean’ refilling system (a fragrance industry first!), meaning that no funnel is needed in the filling process and it can be easily replenished by the purchaser at home. Remarkably, the company estimates that topping up (instead of repurchasing) the same 50ml fragrance bottle just four times equates to a 64 per cent reduction in plastic. “Brands need to help consumers use their products differently. My Way goes a long way to start to address that and the reason why I think it should work is that the refill process is actually incredibly elegant and efficient,” notes Salter.
While a laser focus on sustainability and a zesty new reimagining of florals (as well as a fresh new face in American actor Adria Arjona) might appeal to a Gen Z consumer, Jovanovic insists My Way was created with only a modern, forward-thinking woman in mind. “We’re not thinking of ages, this is for every woman who needs the dose of Armani greatness. For me, this was the strength of this project. Flowers are really so universal – they’re supposed to make you happy. A beautiful bouquet of flowers can be perfect for any woman.” Just don’t compare it to your grandmother’s tuberose.
My Way was created with only a modern, forward-thinking woman in mind