Fabrice Pellegrin is particularly skilled at finding a balance between accessibility and distinctiveness. In The Odd Fellow’s Bouquet (one of two works he’s created for the revived house of Atkinson’s, the other being the soft-hued lily dubbed The Nuptial Bouquet) he manages to convey a decidedly masculine feel (courtesy of pale tobacco, well-worn leather and blown-out matches) with a truly surprising blend of rose, effervescent ginger, dark liquorice, dawn in an Alpine forest, straggly mosses and the curious, part-terpenic, part-phenolic, ‘powdered chemicals’ odour of pharmacies circa 1984. The overall effect is difficult to describe – which is why it’s so compelling – but if you can picture a bow-tie-wearing gent wielding a cigar in one hand whilst sprinkling pine needles onto a child’s chemistry set with the other, then you’re heading in the right direction. An example of ‘heritage’ scent creation as it ought to be executed (ie equal amounts of healthy respect for both past and present), this is one case where ‘odd’ is delightfully, refreshingly apposite.
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