Elements

Elements Showcase will hold its second fragrance design showcase on August 15 and 16, 2011, at Skylight Studios West in Manhattan. Elements, which is known for its custom designed spaces to its cutting edge fragrance installations, has gathered fragrance visionaries for the event. 

For this showcase, Elements is collaborating with Six Scents Parfums on the installation, “Transition: Our avoidable passage from life to death.” Six Scents Parfums creates artisanal fragrances and has developed 19 collaborative fragrances with a roster of fashion designers, including Jeremy Scott, Phillip Lim, Gareth Pugh, and Damir Doma.

“Transition” is designed to be a sensory exploration into the cycle of life. For the installation Six Scents Series Three ‘No.4 Ascent’ by Rad Hourani and Christophe Raynaud is presented as an olfactive installation. “Transition” conveys four stages of life: conception, infancy, midlife and death, which are represented by a series of scented mists emanating from a set of four stylized pedestals. The Elements Showcase strives to create a relationship between exhibitor and space that highlights innovative fragrance brands and entrepreneurs in the industry. To attend Elements Showcase, see elements-showcase.com

Elements Showcase, a contemporary exhibit hall setting filled with niche fragrances from around the world, proved the ideal venue for The Fragrance Foundation to announce its first FiFi Award winner of the year.A special FiFi Award ceremony was held on the opening night of Elements Showcase in Manhattan on January 30 to name this year’s winner of the 2012 FiFi Indie Fragrance Award. Mary Ellen Lapsansky, vice president of the Fragrance Foundation announced that the recipient of the coveted crystal award was Odin New York 06 Amanu. While this FiFi category focuses on the juice, packaging was also an important component in the judging, said Lapsansky. (For more on Lapsansky’s comments and on Elements Showcase, please go to www.beautypackaging.com.)

Thanks to Givaudan, Odin also received a $10,000 cash prize.The Odin series of unisex fragrances features stark matte black packaging, with cartons that are meant to resemble books lined up on a shelf. Each carton is detailed with a simple “volume” number. The brand uses a black raven as its signature and a tiny image of the bird is subtly embossed on both the lower corner of the bottle and on the box. All features harken toward an Edgar Allan Poe reference.

The other four 2012 FiFi Indie Fragrance finalists, which were selected from dozens of entries, were Carner Barcelona “Cuirs,” Come L’Amore Bois 1920, Miller Harris La Fumee, and Siberian Snow by D.S. & Durga.

A Buyers’ MarketThe third bi-annual edition of Elements Showcase ran through January 31 at Skylight West (500 West 36th Street in Manhattan), and drew hundreds of attendees, including media and buyers searching for niche, premium fragrance and skin care brands to offer at retail. Most of the hundred or so brand selections presented featured products geared toward boutiques and high-end department stores. Both the fragrance vendors and the crowd comprised an international flavor and a widespread enthusiasm for the category in general.

Di Ser eau de parfum, from Japan, was making its first appearance in the U.S.The booth representative demonstrated the subtle aroma, noting, “Asian people like light scents.” One series from the 12-year-old manufacturer, took its names from the elements, while another relied on goddesses for inspiration.

Lubin Paris, one of a number of French brands, featured “artisanal packaging” with handmade wood caps and interesting multidimensional metallic layers on some of the fragrance bottles; all components are handmade in Paris. The contemporary line features leather-lined cartons while the vintage line exudes luxury with silk lining. One of the brand’s original scents dates back centuries—it was created for Marie Antoinette while she was in jail.

Straight from Maine was Portland General Store, where proprietor Troy Tyler told Beauty Packaging how he had arrived at the masculine look evident in his range of men’s products. He explained that he had started out with general handwritten vintage apothecary labels, but “there were already too many out there.” So he spent a lot of time redoing the labels using a Smith & Wesson-like roll mark and whiskey-esque names. There’s even a gift set that comes in a cigar box.Bond No. 9 from right here in New York displayed the many transformations of its iconic bottles with fragrances named after neighborhoods throughout the boroughs and beyond, including its latest, Central Park West, which “wears” a fashionable necklace just beneath the cap.Ulrich Lang, one of the three co-founders of Elements Showcase, stated: “The response from both buyers and sellers has been great, and definitely shows there’s an international marketplace for niche brands.”

For more on the Indie FiFi Award and Elements Showcase, see Beauty Packaging’s videos atwww.beautypackaging.com.

As the Elements Showcase prepares to host its second design and fragrance showcase on August 15-16, the founders have announced their partnership with The Fragrance Foundation to introduce a new FiFi Award for Best “Indie” Fragrance Brand at this August’s show. Brands will be able to sign up to receive nominating forms at the show and via the websites of Elements and the Foundation. The winner(s) will be announced at the Elements Showcase in January 2012 and again at the FiFi Awards ceremony in the Spring of 2012. 

Elements Showcase is the brainchild of Frederick Bouchardy, Jeff Lawson and Ulrich Lang. The first showcase, in January 2011, presented curated offerings in the field of fragrance design.

“We are honored to partner with The Fragrance Foundation in the creation of a FiFi for Best Indie Fragrance. Our goal at Elements Showcase is to continuously strive to promote what is cutting edge in design and fragrance and we feel this partnership is another step towards supporting that agenda.”

A crowd of buyers from all over the globe, including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Henri Bendel attended the January 2011 Elements Showcase. These buyers were exposed to dozens of emerging and established visionaries in the art of fragrance design including Bond No. 9, Lafco New York, Dayna Decker and many more. It will be from a list of fragrance visionaries similar to these that The Fragrance Foundation and Elements Showcase will accept candidates for the new FiFi Award based on criteria which will be shared in the weeks ahead.

“The Fragrance Foundation recognizes the talent and artistry of the “Indie” Brands and wants to acknowledge this category in the environment which celebrates their individuality and craftsmanship,” says Rochelle Bloom, president of The Fragrance Foundation.