choc sensorielle

Last week end's edition of the Tages Anzeiger featured an interview with Vera Strübi, director of Thierry Mugler Parfums in Paris. She is Swiss, as the airline "Swiss" used to be before it was conquered or safed to become part of Lufthansa's empire. Four days ago, while sitting entirely bored in the Swiss airplane, bringing me back to Zurich from Brussels the other day, 10000 meter above ground, nipping on my beer and trying to eat my sandwich with style, I read the Swiss airline monthly magazine. And: There she was, too. Of course, the issue was the launch of the Alien perfume. The Muglers are very active in these days.

Now, there are hundreds of books that should be written about sitting in airplanes and trying to think of anything else than how to get rid of those hours ahead, remodelling your life and planning a future freed of the leashes one is bound to .. but this is not the storyline here....

In her interview, Vera Strübi made a courageous statement: "Scents that are successful over years have all a unique character, which is easily memorized by our customers. But this also means: Unique fragrances polarize. They please or they don't." Roudnitska also mentioned once that a good perfume is one that brings with it a sensorial shock. Thus, let's polarize and try to create this shocking perfume news! But, that's not an easy one; it is a thin line (as always...) and it is tricky because at first sight, many (including myself) will walk away from this experience of a truly new, unique assembly, never smelled before. The same is true for other forms of creation. I think this is exactly why an artist is so often faced with complete confusion and miscomprehension. He/she brings up a sensorial shock for which we are not ready yet. A piece of art will prove with time, once the spectator has learned to deal with this shock, to incorporate it into what will become common sense soon.
There is confort here: A lot of consumers will initially not like what they smell, but after a few tough years, a good perfume will find its way....