Fashion and Fragrance
A Report on the lecture given by Julie Hope at the London College of Fashion on Thursday 18th February 1999.
Julie Hope is a lecturer at the London College of Fashion, and she introduced her talk by stressing that she was not attempting to suggest that perfumes had evolved in parallel with developments in fashion, but rather to establish some links between fashionable use of fragrance, and fashion consumption, with the emphasis on the feminine consumer, using fragrance to try and represent her identity. A brief outline of the history of perfume use up to the 20th Century followed, and then a discussion of the changing notions of luxury, feminity and youth, related to fashion and perfume consumption up to the present day. Julie ended the talk with a less formal discussion of some contemporary perfume advertisements.
In the ancient world, perfume was used socially amongst the elite, particularly in bathing rituals, and throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, perfumes continued to be used mainly by those nobles who could afford them. With the rise of the wealthy merchant class during the industrial revolution, perfume came to be more widely used as a marker of social standing and refinement. Industrialisation resulted in increased commercial use and mass distribution, and whilst costs have come down, the labour intensity involved in the collection of plant material for natural perfume ingredients, through to the development and manufacture of fine fragrances, mean that the finished product is still relatively costly. During the eighteenth century, women became increasingly defined as consumers rather than producers; this is why there is a residual 'feminine' association with fragrance, as with many other luxury goods. Perfume is an olfactory bodily adornment, and therefore is essentially a feminine luxury or pleasure.
Joy, the costliest perfume in the world, (illustrated by an advertisement from Vogue, 1963) was released in 1935. Jean Patou, it is rumoured, was advised to delay the launch, but he decided to go ahead and launch during the depression on the grounds that it might take peoples minds off their misery. Throughout the thirties, a number of orientals became popular, such as Guerlain's Jicky, Tabu by Dana, Shalimar by Guerlain, and Narcisse Noir by Caron. These represented exotic Oriental adventures, unavailable to the vast majority, and the same unfulfilled desires are evident in fashion - not everyone could afford it. We were shown some slides of 1930's shimmering evening wear, and more nostalgic perfume ad's, including Shocking, from 1937. Ordinary women were at best able to purchase "costume" jewellery, and to make cheap copies of dresses, often from patterns in movie magazines. During the 1930's, Hollywood's indulgent fantasies were very popular with working class people, indicating that consumption by the rich few provided an escapist fantasy for the rest. This was illustrated with a video clip from the film Stella Dallas, 1937, where Stella, pictured in a movie theatre, sits totally enthralled - she would rather watch a dream that she can never have, than live in a world without a dream.
During the war, there were chronic shortages - perfume could not be found in the shops for five years, but people continued to cling to the concept of perfume. There was a fear that brand names may be forgotten if they disappeared from the marketplace for too long, and in order to try and prevent this, Chanel actually printed an 'apology' in a newspaper for not being available, to remind people that they are the perfumes for the elite. The home grown alternative, Atkinson's Eau de Cologne was still available, but did not quite have the same appeal.
After the war came Dior's "New Look", with a skirt made from yards of fabric, that could not have been made during the war. In 1947, before fabric rationing was lifted, a black market existed whereby many ordinary women would pay "through the nose" so that they could still give the impression of being one of the elite. In the same year, Dior released his first fragrance, Miss Dior. Its subtle chypre fragrance was marketed as the ultimate in feminity, a refreshing counterpoint to all that had been endured before. Many women were delighted to hand back the traditionally male chores they had been doing during wartime, and so during the immediate post-war period, a return to more traditional gender values was encouraged.
During the 1950's, women were addressed as an homogenous mass. The domain of fashion was seen as frivolous, and was dictated to the mass by the elite minority. The consumption of perfume was equally dictated - it was deemed improper for women to buy fragrances - they were to be accepted as gifts of love, and hence there is still romance attached to the giving of perfumes.
All these romantic associations were rendered out of date by the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960's. In the U.S.A. it was Estee Lauder who began to suggest that women may like to choose their own fragrance. Women's movements began to give women individuality, and they could no longer be addressed as a mass. There was a profusion of styles in both fashion and fragrance along this theme. Cachet was launched as "a fragrance as individual as you are". Peace and progressive thinking were themes associated with Eastern influenced clothes such as the kaftan, and the incense-like fragrance, Caleche by Hermes. These existed simultaneously alongside a vast range of consumer goods with a strangeness and freshness of an optimistic future, symbolised perhaps, by the Space Race. The post-war economic boom brought with it the expansion of the mass market for fashion and fragrance. For expansion to continue, previously untapped consumers had to be found, and so the fashion and fragrance industries began to cater to the "youth culture", who in fact, free of the responsibilities of their parents, were more able to take advantage of the post-war affluence. Their tastes were different enough from their parents to constitute a generation gap. Youth can be categorised as the dominant theme of the 1960's epitomised by Mary Quant's designs and in the child-like face and physique of Twiggy. In perfume, Estee Lauder's Youth Dew, (although it was actually launched in 1952) reached the peak of its popularity around 1966-67. We were shown a clip from the film "Billy Liar", featuring Julie Christie walking gaily along swinging her bag, proving that youth has superseded age. A lot of people were not happy with the shift of focus onto youth, but this is still true, today - youth equals beauty and sexuality.
A discussion of some meanings and themes of contemporary perfume advertising followed. Emporio Armani has recently launched two fragrances, indicating it is still all about romance. Two bottles that fit together imply a his/hers relationship, but we have moved ahead - the genders are equal but different, but we can still guess which is his and which is hers. It is saying, we can shop together for our fragrances. Dolce and Gabbana have a similar concept, a set of two fragrances, but in their advert the woman is portrayed as being much more sensual. Julie asked why, in the late 1990's, are we seeing matching his and hers fragrances, after we have had several successful unisex ones? In terms of "post-aids" sexuality, monogamy is perhaps the only way forward, so his and hers now seems more appropriate. However, as Julie points out, laughing, Dolce and Gabbana do not see men and women as equal at all! The male fragrance is in a chunky, masculine bottle, and the man is wearing a plain vest, while the woman is wearing a more revealing top than is necessary. With the new Jean Paul Gaultier fragrance, "Le Male", we see a more "homoerotic" image of two men armwrestling, but here, strength is no guarantee of sexuality - they are strong but not macho. This is aimed at the type of man who does not have a problem buying "perfume". The new women's fragrance by Jean Paul Gaultier is advertised by a mermaid, a siren, surrounded by drowning men - in a post-feminist climate, she is in charge. Tommy Hilfigur, on the other hand, shows an all-American rugged image, trying to address that fragrance is not a luxury. They are all wearing jeans and tee-shirts, outdoors, and the woman in this ad is one of the lads. Can it be argued that perfume advertising is going too far, and fragrance is maybe less associated with luxury than ever before? The most famous advert of all, for CK1, was shown, with Julie's parting remarks, saying it was like a "casual uniform" which everyone was wearing. How individual is that? And how exclusive, when fragrance can be bought, discounted, in supermarkets? In the Guardian, on 12th February, it was reported that we had "scent fatigue" and there had been a drop in sales. The meanings associated with perfume have shifted. Let's hope we can shift them back.
This account is taken from a transcript of Julie Hope's lecture, summarised and annotated by Julie Towle.