WWW.PENHALIGONS.COMThePrince ofPerfume...FabricEPellegrinPage 04En garde! We spar over next season’s scents with London’s jolliest portrait.Page 15The Daring Doyennes and BoldBelladonnas of LondonPage 13 FINE PERFUMERSEST. 1870Introducing the Hidden London CollectionPage 16MrPellegrin’sLittle Black BookPage 05Ode to Elisabethan RosePage 10HiddenLondonersPage 22Dandies& DevilsPart 2Page 14EDITION NO7SPRING/SUMMER 2018Editor in ChiefWILLIAM TRUTHSBURYCreative DirectionSTEFAN ABRAHAMSFeatures EditorBENJI WALTERSContributorsTHE LAUGHING CAVALIER, KIT CLANCY, WILLIAM FARR, KITTY GARRATT, RICHARD HAWARD, IAN KIDD, ROBIN LAMBERT, ADAM LEE, FABRICE PELLEGRIN, LEON THOMSIDE, AIDAN ZAMIRIPublished by VISUAL TALENT 133 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3LB Editorial Director & Publisher HUW GWYTHER Accociate Publisher CARLO KAMCHISPrinted by WESTDALE PRESS Print Manager HPAPRINT.CO.UKYOU BEGAN YOUR CAREER IN PERFUMERY LEARNING FROM YOUR FATHER. BUT HAD YOU ALWAYS KNOWN THAT YOU WANTED TO FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS?The spirit of Grasse runs in my blood. My father was a perfumer, my grandmother a beloved jasmine picker and my grandfather a supplier of naturals for perfumery. My craft is a true family story. Naturals hold no secrets from me as I grew up surrounded by their precious scents. This is the reason why I like to share my passion for natural ingredients. I was trained very early with master perfumers to learn everything about composition. It is no surprise that my sense of smell is particularly developed as I never stopped training it from my earliest age.WHEN YOU FIRST BEGIN CREATING A NEW FRAGRANCE, HOW DOES THE PROCESS START? WHERE DO YOU FIRST DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?My first source of inspiration comes from nature. I like to craft my fragrances starting with natural ingredients that will be highlighted with the most beautiful facets. As I create for such a prestigious brand like Penhaligon’s, I cherish the opportunity to sublimate the most exclusive ingredients. I like to explore the richness of their captivating facets and truly forget about targeting specific consumers – including their gender. I only focus on the beauty of the materials and the emotions aroused from the refined and sophisticated composition. Beauty, harmony and quality are my guidelines, my personal ethics.YOUR THREE NEW FRAGRANCES FOR PENHALIGON’S ARE BASED ON SOME OF LONDON’S CHICEST AREAS. COULD YOU TALK TO US ABOUT HIDDEN LONDON?The initial concept from Penhaligon’s was truly exciting: a collection based on the ultimate and purest expression of three olfactive families – chypre, amber & wood – which would capture the very essence of three of the most elegant and refined areas of London (Kensington, Belgravia and Marylebone).A strong and powerful amber, Kensington Amber reveals a warm and exotic note of cinnamon. The white vanilla recalls the nostalgic comfort of the magnificence of the Victorian era. Its deep signature is inspired by the elegant and charming historic, villa-lined streets of Kensington and its public squares.Belgravia Chypre is a traditional chypre structure twisted with the fruity and juicy facet of raspberry and a fizzy pink pepper inflexion enhanced by a delicate note of rose. Inspired by the opulent architecture of the cream Stucco-fronted villas and embassies of the Belgravia neighborhood, its luxurious sillage includes patchouli, oak moss and bergamot.Marylebone Wood pays tribute to the woody family. The woody overdose is made of the three most emblematic woods of perfumery: vetiver, sandalwood and patchouli.Inspired by the West London area, the dry smoky character infuses with a racy trail which perfectly embodies the rich historical significance of the place that boasts Sherlock Holmes’ house and the Wallace Collection.WHAT IS IT THAT DREW YOU TO WORKING WITH PENHALIGON’S AND WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE HOUSE UNIQUE?I was honored that I was first chosen for the noble mission of creating Penhaligon’s semi-bespoke fragrances at Harrods. I felt very proud as it was the first time I’d worked for the prestigious brand.Penhaligon’s embodies the typical and authentic British luxury that’s anchored in timeless traditions and heritage, sourcing only the finest rare ingredients. Its universe has always orbited the famed image of distinguished British Royalty.IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE LIKE CHOOSING BETWEEN ONE’S CHILDREN, BUT WHICH OF THE THREE FRAGRANCES YOU’VE CREATED FOR PENHALIGON’S IS YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE AND WHY?This is difficult for me to choose one of them as they all involve the most refined woods. I confess I love calling for the sexiness of noble woods in my creations and most particularly the patchouli.LASTLY, IN YOUR EXPERT OPINION, HOW MANY SPRAYS OF PERFUME DOES ONE NEED TO ENSURE THEIR FRAGRANT, BUT NEVER OVERBEARING?What’s essential when you wear perfume is that you feel good and that is totally personal and instinctive. To my mind, it should be totally free and not suffer from any taboos, even the number of sprays. Personally, I like to spray in very different parts of the skin and clothes to ensure that the long lastingness will remain harmonious throughout the day.Like nobility, good looks and a sharp tongue, a heightened sense of smell is one of those rare gifts that seems to travel in the blood, generation to generation, father to son. It should come as no great shock, then, that master nose Fabrice Pellegrin began his working life apprenticing alongside his perfumer father. Not content simply to ride along on the (no doubt well-scented) family coattails though, Pellegrin has gone on to forge a highly esteemed career of his own, formulating some truly timeless fragrances and gaining international renown for his skill with natural ingredients. With talent like that, it could hardly be long before we invited Fabrice to bring a little French flair to our ever so English house, could it? We caught up over a terribly continental cup of coffee (all natural, of course) to talk inspiration, the sensuality of rare woods and our latest collaboration, the Hidden London series.WORDS BY BENJI WALTERSDearest Reader,There’s little that brings us more pleasure in life than the streets, sights and smells of dear old London. It seems that for every time-honoured treasure of St James’ or Chelsea, there’s a newly incandescent delight flourishing south or east of the river. And it’s in the pioneering London spirit of old-meets-new that we’ve devoted this charming periodical to the hidden histories and submerged stories of our beloved hometown. Inside these pages you’ll find a wealth of hard-earned wisdom and – far be it from us to boast – a healthy dose of wit, as we meet master perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin, take a walk with history’s most devilish dandies, and celebrate the craftsman helping London’s traditions to thrive. Elsewhere, we’ll look back on the inspirational heroines of yesteryear and the pioneering creatives of tomorrow, before revealing a thing or two about the olfactory mysterious of our newest collection.Here’s wishing you fragrant and fruitful reading!Yours,William Truthsbury, Editor-in-chiefEDITION NO6SPRING/SUMMER 2018EDITOR’S LETTERFabrice PELLEGRINFifteen minutes with the prince of perfumeTHE FINEST MEAL IN TOWN:Boisdale, Belgravia: I love the unique atmosphere of this place, typical of London with its red paint and large carpets. It feels like having dinner at someone’s.THE PERFECT CUP OF TEA: The Blakes Hotel Cocktail Bar, Kensington: the terrace is full of details that take you away to an imaginary place. It’s a small, peaceful treasure inside London.THE PLACE TO SHOP: Regent Street: you can find anything for anyone! And especially a tremendous Penhaligon’s boutique, infused with the identity of the brand.THE ESSENTIAL CULTURE SPOT:The Tate Modern Gallery: for its fine contemporary art exhibitions, and because it reminds me of Match Point.HAVING CALLED IT HOME FOR NEARLY 150 YEARS, WE LIKE TO THINK WE KNOW A THING OR TWO ABOUT LONDON. NONETHELESS, EVEN WE’LL ADMIT THAT, ON OCCASION, IT’S THE WELL-TRAVELLED FOREIGN EYE (OR NOSE, AS THE CASE MAY BE) WHICH CAN DISCERN THAT SOMETHING HITHERTO UNSEEN IN ONE’S VERY OWN BACK GARDEN. THAT’S WHY MONSIEUR PELLEGRIN WAS THE NATURAL CHOICE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OLFACTORY ESSENCES OF THREE QUINTESSENTIALLY LONDON PLACES. INDEED, GIVEN HIS INSTINCTIVE KNACK FOR GETTING RIGHT TO THE EVER-SO-FRAGRANT HEART OF A MATTER, ONE CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER WHAT ELSE FABRICE MIGHT KNOW ABOUT OUR BELOVED STOMPING GROUND. ALWAYS THE CONSUMMATE GENTLEMAN, HE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH US A PAGE OR TWO FROM HIS LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF LONDON: A PRIVILEGE WE SIMPLY HAD TO EXTEND YOUR WAY...Mr PELLEGRIN’sLITTLE BLACK BOOKLONDONTHE MOST FRAGRANT PLACE IN THE CITY:Covent Garden, where you can find plenty of fragrance stores and corners, is definitely the most fragrant place in London!THE LITTLE-KNOWN FAVOURITE:The Sherlock Holmes Museum! I’m a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s universe and, according to the story, Sherlock Holmes and his loyal friend Dr Watson lived at this exact address.THE PICTURESQUE PROMENADE:Regent’s Canal: to admire the incredible houses alongside the water!THE BEST VIEW IN LONDON:Hampstead Heath! When it’s not foggy you can see the whole city. It feels like being far away from it, but it’s actually so close…THE EXQUISITELY MIXED COCKTAIL:Artesian bar, Marylebone. It’s a place where past and present meet in every centimeter, down to the cocktails! The finest reinterpretations of classical beverages. Try the ‘Bee’s Knees’ there for a surprising alliance of the fresh bitterness of gin and the soft addiction of honey.WWW.PENHALIGONS.COM5Regarded by many as one of the greatest Britons to ever live, Winston Churchill also happened to be a man of exquisite and luxurious tastes. He drank fine Scotch whisky (paired with soda: for breakfast), smoked the best cigars and wore silk pyjamas to bed. More importantly, he was a faithful Penhaligon’s devotee; which makes sense, given that our Blenheim Bouquet was originally crafted specifically for one of his illustrious ancestors, the Duke of Marlborough.As he was also known to treat his cabinet to lunch at The Savoy – and was particularly fond of its resident cat, Kasper – we think Churchill would certainly approve of our ongoing partnership with his favourite hotel.This marriage of two legendary London treasures all began with a sensational scent called the Savoy Steam. A loving tribute to the Turkish baths that were our Jermyn Street neighbours back in 1870, this fresh “friction” (an early cologne applied vigorously as part of the washing process) bottles the vaporous atmosphere of the 19th century Hammam, then adds an energising, invigorating mist of rose that’s all our own.Well, The Savoy were so taken with our little potion that we now have the not inconsiderable honour of providing the legendary hotel with all of their toiletries, head to toe, top to bottom. That means the next time you’re at The Savoy, whether you’re scrubbing up before a quick business lunch or taking a languid bath during a long weekend stay, you’ll find every toilet, guestroom and suite lovingly appointed with all manner of marvellously made goodies, each based on our versatile Savoy Steam scent.Naturally, these amenities – which include soaps and lotions as well as shampoos and conditioners – are entirely exclusive to The Savoy, so you won’t find them anywhere else. Unless, that is, they end up finding their way into your bathroom cabinet at home…well, we won’t tell if you don’t.Stompin!at theSavoyOUR ONGOING COLLABORATION WITH THE BEST HOTEL IN TOWN CONTINUES. SO WHY WOULD YOU STAY ANYWHERE ELSE?WWW.PENHALIGONS.COMKITTY GARRATT is the fashion designer-in-training whose made-by-hand aesthetic and liberating approach to gender-less dressing has already been championed by Vogue’s Sarah Mower. And trust us when we say there are a few better starts in this business than a place on Mower’s hallowed list. Which begs the question, just where is Ms Garratt heading next?AFTERNOON, KITTY. TALK TO US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU ENDED UP DESIGNING MENSWEAR?For my BA I specialised in knitwear, which means you are quite free to do whatever you want. I mostly did womenswear but at the last minute felt the collection would look stronger on guys so that’s kind of how it happened (also my boyfriend is the best fit model!). Although now I am on the MA I am going back to women’s wear for the moment!SO WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK CSM HAS PLAYED IN YOUR CREATIVE FORMATION?I think CSM has been an amazing place to study: it’s not as traditional as other schools, they really push you to find your own ways for doing things and I think that helps you to form your own creativity. They remind you that it is ok not to know things by the book, which is such an empowering thing. For example, I feel really confident pattern cutting now despite the fact I don’t think I have ever had a pattern cutting lesson in my life! The mistakes make things better and more interesting.MANY DESIGNERS DABBLE IN ADDRESSING GENDER WITH OR THROUGH THOSE CLOTHES, BUT YOUR APPROACH FEELS GENUINELY DIFFERENT.Addressing gender has never actually been an integral part of my work. I guess because I made quite a feminine collection and put it on men it became seen as that. For me, making the final collection was a really personal thing and my boyfriend helped me a lot with everything. We did so many fittings that I think I got used to seeing it on him so it just became a menswear collection.It’s weird: I don’t think I really had a person in mind when I made this collection, it was almost as if I was doing a painting, it was just its own thing. A manifestation of stuff I was into.YOU ENDED UP ON SARAH MOWER’S ‘SARAH’S LIST’: AN INFORMAL PLATFORM FOR PROMOTING NEW TALENT. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL?Yes, Sarah is an amazing support for young designers. I think the pop-up at Liberty was such a good idea and I’m so grateful to her for including me!SOME OF YOUR DESIGNS HAVE BEEN EMPHATICALLY HANDMADE (YOUR PAINTED BOOTS, FOR EXAMPLE). IS THAT ARTISANAL, HUMAN QUALITY SOMETHING THAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHICH YOU WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE EXPLORING?I’m so obsessed with handmade things; I’m really into finding old techniques and crafts and trying to bring them into my work. I just think there is something so special about something that someone has made with their hands, the mistakes and the imperfections. For me that is ‘luxury fashion’.WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO PURSUE A LIFE IN DESIGN DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF WORK IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES?Of course it can be a really hard industry but I just feel really lucky that I am doing something that I enjoy so much. I have no idea what will happen after my MA but I just want to continue designing and making things.WHERE, FOR YOU, IS LONDON’S BEST HIDDEN GEM?Definitely the Sir John Soane’s Museum. I want to live there!AND LASTLY, WHERE’S THE MOST FRAGRANT PLACE IN THE CITY?Columbia road flower market on Sundays!“What’s past is prologue,” as The Bard once wrote. Needless to say, the importance of knowing one’s heritage is hardly lost on us here at Penhaligon’s. Our history is what makes us who we are today, which is exactly why we look to the future as well as to the past. After all, when William Penhaligon travelled from Cornwall to London to seek his fortune in the 1860s, he came not as a reactionary but in the spirit of progress: as a creative craftsman and a pioneer.In today’s London, those are qualities you’ll find in one place more than any other: Central Saint Martins. The legendary art school’s produced more top-drawer talent than you could shake a stick at and is a true British institution. Forever keen to champion tomorrow’s innovators, we sat down for a steam with two of CSM’s most promising young things. Because, as everyone from the Ottomans to the Victorians knew, there’s nothing like a good shvitz to get chins wagging and gossip flowing.FASHION BY ROSIE SYKESPHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN LAMBERTWORDS BYBENJI WALTERSA CSM graduate making waves thanks to his floral instillation work, WILLIAM FARR is a multi-disciplinary creative thriving in those fascinating intersections between art and fashion. Esteemed institutions like Liberty of London and the Tate Modern have already come calling, so we had to find out more.WILLIAM, TAKE US THROUGH WHAT YOU DO.I’m an artist. For me, making is a crucial part of my work and I like to spend as much time using my hands as possible. Currently I primarily make images of installations, and I’m trying to blur the lines between drawing, photography and installation. I treat installation as if it were a sketch and I can only describe the whole process as image making. I want to create work throughout all these different methods and I’d love to upscale my installations if I get the chance because I like to react to environments and the constrictions they provide.LIKE US, YOU WORK A LOT WITH FLOWERS: WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THE FLORAL AND HOW DO YOU BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO SUCH A TRADITIONAL FORM?It’s something that just happened naturally. I was interested in pressing flowers from a young age. My mum used to have a flower press I would always use, then, as I got older, the obsession grew. I never think of myself as a florist: I studied art and fashion and have always thought of myself as an artist. I don’t really think of making something new: I think if the process I use to create is true to my life experience, and expresses the emotion I’m feeling within myself and about a wider context, it innately has something current and a feeling of now.One of my favourite references is Doctor Thornton’s Temple of Flora: it’s such a wonderful idea, a very rich man pouring all of his money into sending the finest painters around the world to document rare flowers. Eventually he went bust. I think this is an allegory of why I will never end up rich! I constantly spend money on my work.YOU’VE COLLABORATED WITH THE FASHION DESIGNER MATTY BOVAN: HOW DO YOU APPROACH WORKING IN A RUNWAY CONTEXT?With Matty it was just a few sentences and some images. His collection had a kind of medieval futurism and I just took that and found a place in my narrative as a reaction. It was really exciting and building at that scale had a lot of interesting parts. I usually look at the restrictions and needs of the designer and then see how much of myself I can fit in there!YOU’VE MENTIONED THAT ISOLATION IS AN IMPORTANT PREOCCUPATION IN YOUR WORK. COULD YOU EXPAND UPON THAT?I think that editing, arranging and abstracting are all important things. Placing objects in different contexts gives them different meaning: it seems an obvious thing to say but seeing how far I can push that interests me. People often don’t know whether my images are photographs or drawings/paintings.FROM LIBERTY’S TO THE TATE MODERN, I IMAGINE THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN PRETTY EXCITING CREATIVELY. WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT AND WHY?The highlight has been bringing the focus down to something much more intimate and personal. Working at a small level to investigate the subject in the last few months has informed so much of my process; it’s like a whole new chapter in my work. I can’t wait to find places where I can scale it up again!WHERE’S YOUR SECRET SPOT IN LONDON – A PLACE YOU LOVE THAT NOT MANYPEOPLE KNOW ABOUT?There are so many places I love in London. I think it’s the most endearing thing about the city – every area has its own treasures and quirks. The city continues to unfold.AS A MAN WHO’S PASSIONATE ABOUT FLOWERS, WHERE DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST SMELLING PLACE IN LONDON?I don’t really have favourites in that way. If I arrive back from a long trip, the smell of grinding metal at the platform is the best thing: it centres me back in the city I love.WWW.PENHALIGONS.COMWILLIAM FARR9Next >