Elements

Alice An, NY Makeup Examiner
August 19, 2011

August 16, 2011— A cloud of pretty scents hovered around the entrance of Skylight West, in New York City. Inside, a throng of stylish people chattered cheerfully as they waited. A hush fell over the crowd as Jane Larkworthy, the beauty editor of W Magazine took the moderator’s seat.

Day two of the Elements Showcase began with a well-attended panel of fragrance industry veterans. Led by Larkworthy, Patricia Choux from Takasago, Anthropologie beauty buyer Melissa Green, designer Douglas Hannant, Ruth Sutcliffe, senior marketing director and fragrance designer at Coty, and Bea von Thurn und Taxis of Susanne Kaufmann, all took turns giving their thoughts on the driving forces of fragrance design.

While the statements made on the panel were far from groundbreaking, one key fact was evident: the room was filled with great passion and true love for the creation of scents. The energy was best encapsulated by Larkworthy, who remarked, “With the passion that people have for fragrance here, in a few years this (event) is going to trump the New York Boat Show.”

Following the panel, showcase attendees filtered casually through the beautifully designed exhibition spaces. A unique concept with regards to tradeshows, Elements founders Fredrick Bouchardy , Jeff Lawson and Ulrich Lang collaborated with Reddymade Design to create the space, which was closer to the look and feel of a well-curated art gallery than a tradeshow floor.Seasoned industry regulars C.O. Bigelow and Bond No. 9 NYC shared the floor with young brands such as Evolution Man by Marco Berardini and Tay Clean & Pure skincare by Sarah Tay. Other notable companies in attendance included Woodley & Bunny from Brooklyn, French perfumer Atelier Cologne and New York-based Odin.

In addition to the exhibitors, Elements also featured three special art installations. The first, located in a beautiful freight elevator on the 6th floor, was a scent tour of life by avant-garde brand Six Scents. Six Scents based its creation off of the inspiration and conceptualization process for the fragrance they developed with Paris-based fashion designer Rad Hourani. The second was a series of scent-inspired sculptures by the students of FIT, featuring furniture pieces by Boston-based Artists for Humanity.  And the last, tucked away by the main elevator bank, was “Pillows,” a combination of video, scent delivered via candle, and pillows from IKEA, by New York artist Gogy Esparza.

The candles for “Pillows,” designed in conjunction with Bouchardy specially for the Elements installation, were such a hit with showcase attendees that Esparza hinted that he might make them available at his East Village barber shop Blind Barber. A number of attendees were spotted napping amongst “Pillows” and chatting with Esparza throughout the day.