Mr. Fillion, the three new fragrances you designed for the Australian brand Aesop have created the image of the sea, the coast, the places reclaimed by nature, and the places many people yearn for during the long blockade. Where did you get its inspiration?
This series is about border areas, about blurring the boundaries between imagined and real places. I was influenced by the work of various philosophers. Therefore, it is not about missing a place or recreating a place you have already visited, but a very poetic concept about it. Therefore, the place where myths, poems and different time levels meet.
This sounds more like a dreamlike landscape…
Something similar. Take “Miraceti” as an example. It is a myth about the ocean. For me, Greek mythology plays a role in addition to the obscure objects of desire and the story of Moby Dick.
Although it is inspired by the sea, “Miraceti” has a very warm resin labdanum flavor, reminiscent of wood.
In “Moby Dick”, I paid special attention to the part that took place in the hull of the ship and in a small room under the deck. It describes the experience of floating on the ocean trapped by a piece of wood. The captain’s power is also reflected in his fight against nature and the process of chasing dreams-this is what I call “the obscure object of desire”. Then there are other flavors: the smell of wood, the smell of the sea at night, whiskey. Miraceti, Erémia and Karst these three fragrances all measure the interaction between man and nature.
It is said that “Erémia” perfume is inspired by the ruined city landscape. How can you imagine it?
The name is related to the concept of “Chora” in Greek philosophy. This word means a place outside the ancient city. This place is like a garden, a place on the outskirts of the city, where you can look back on city life. This is a place to think about this city and what you can do there. I was attracted by the idea of a garden that is not a real garden but includes an urban aspect. Nature regains the idea of space in concrete. I played with these photos: extending the beauty of the summer city to the area where a lot of wild green grows between the city walls, a place between the wasteland and the wild garden.
The freshest smell of the three is “karst”.
It is a different landscape again, an empty and desolate landscape, a cliff leaning towards the sea, a space where the sea and the land meet. I have read a book on the sea and coast by the French historian Alain Corbin. He explained that tens of kilometers of our coast disappear every year because the sea eats them all up. At the same time, the coast is where we find many things we never expected, and sometimes even things from our past are washed there. The movement of the ocean connects different time levels with each other. Nietzsche’s thinking about the smell of air also gave me some inspiration. I am always looking for the real smell of pure air.
Your method seems very literary. This is unusual for perfumers.
