Gallivant takes perfume to a new place

If the idea that you can’t judge a book by its cover is true, the same can definitely be said for a bottle of perfume.

The simple casings containing the scents created by perfumer Nick Steward for his London-based perfume company, Gallivant, tell little about the intoxicatingly unique elixirs inside. Inspired by global cities that hold a place in Steward’s heart, the glass bottles give away the name of each inspiration city — but little about the nuanced scent inside.

We caught up with Steward during his recent visit to Vancouver to talk scents, stories and what’s new.

What makes Gallivant different from other fragrance offerings?

I founded Gallivant last year. I wanted to create very high-end perfumes, but also perfumes that are deceptively simple.

I think the idea of cities and travel is relevant and modern. I don’t like things that are fussy and pretentious, and I think you can do something beautiful, thoughtful and clever without all the bells and whistles.

Who do you have in mind, if anyone at all, when you create your scents?

I genuinely don’t. I think it’s a distraction. I think what I have in mind is creating something that feels beautiful, that takes me on a journey, that has a beginning, a middle and an end to the story that plays out on your skin. Really, genuinely, I feel I know that I’m finished with the development of a formula when

I feel genuine pleasure in wearing it.

So, the scents are truly very unisex, then?

I genuinely don’t know who is going to wear them. … So, how could I decide you’re a ‘this person’ and so you must wear this. I think it’s bizarre to think that.

Especially for something like scent, which is so personal.

So personal, and so abstract. Because one of the wonderful things about perfume is that you can smell something, and we can smell the same thing, and you can have a very different interpretation of it. And that’s not wrong. Because your memory, your cultural references and your associations are different.

What’s it like when you encounter someone who is wearing one of your scents?

I find it, still, a source of constant wonder. It feels much more like a personal collection . ... In the best possible way, you can’t imagine how fascinating it is for me to smell Gallivant fragrances on your skin, because it’s novel.