SEX AND THE PARFUM

This month, osMoz welcomes you to a scent-sual special issue dedicated to SEX. While porno-chic and glam-trash are so last millennium, the trend has in fact evolved rather than disappearing… And there’s no way around it: sex still sells. A backstage report in the worlds of fashion and fragrance.
By Nicolas Olczyk

When censorship sells…

In the United States, the ad for Calvin Klein’s latest perfume, Secret Obsession, has caused tongues to wag. It features actress Eva Mendes shot in black and white. Censored in primetime, the ad is neither pornographic, nor even vulgar. The actress is lying in bed, nude, only partially draped in a sheet. Maybe it’s the glimpse of a nipple that was too much. Whatever it is, as is often the case with censorship, the ban has just piqued people’s curiosity, and the ad is a hit on line.

‘Sexual’ has always been a key theme with Calvin Klein. Obsession, the fragrance that inspired Secret Obsession, is an intense oriental. Rumor has it that if it hadn’t been called Obsession, the other idea for a name was Climax. Obsession also comes in a men’s version. With their distinctive spicy-oriental trails, Obsession and Obsession for men are still amongst the sultriest of scents. But even their less overtly sexual scents, like ck one, had daring ad campaigns (particularly in the years 2002 - 2004). And the idea of having sex is clearly implied in the ad for the fragrance duo CKIN2U, in which the young woman grabs her companion’s belt, leading to a elevator/stairway chase scene.

Naughty or Nice?

‘Every woman has one,’ Benefit says. One what? A B-Spot, of course: B Spot is the name of their latest perfume. This tongue-in-cheek variation on “G spot” has a map of sensitive spots on a woman’s body, on the back of the box. This season, naughty is definitely in. A few years ago, Madame Rykiel boasted that one of her perfumes was ‘Not for Men;’ this season, Diesel has unveiled a new perfume in an ad stamped 'For women only'. The trend is towards boudoirs, libertine women, and the thrill of a perfume conceived as an elixir of sensuality. The elixir concept can also be found over at Guerlain, with the house’s Elixirs Charnels (“Carnal Elixirs”) collection. Among the three ultra-feminine scents to look out for: Oriental Brûlant and Gourmand Coquin (“Sizzling Oriental” and “Naughty Gourmand.”
The high priest of sensuality, British brand Agent Provocateur started the ball rolling. Their latest scents were christened Maîtresse (“Mistress”) and Strip. A titillating program
Sexy scented items are also booming. Aside from the massage candle, a best-seller for several brands, the thing to look out for at perfume shops lately is the new “cosmetiques du plaisir” line YesForLov. For the holidays, the brand will be launching “l‘Affolante eau de draps” (“Sexy Sheet eau”). This sweet-spicy eau calls pillow perfumes to mind, but the point is clearly not the same: beds aren’t only for sleeping.

Ad campaigns: still sexy after all these years

The pairing of perfume and sex peaked in the years 2000-2004, when designer Tom Ford was at the reins of the Houses of Saint Laurent and of Gucci. Remember the voluptuous model Sophie Dahl posing nude for Opium, or the ad for the romantic scent Paris featuring a strange ménage à trois? Fashion was in the midst of its own ‘porno chic’ trend: a woman in a mud-splattered haute-couture dress, another one revealing a luxury brand’s monogram shaved into her pubic hair…
Much water has gone under the bridge since then, but sex still sells. Indeed, Tom Ford, now at the head of his own house, is once again attracting attention with sizzling hot ads for eyeglasses and fragrances. For his first men’s fragrance, the spicy-woody Tom Ford for Men, the designer called on the services of photographer Terry Richardson. Very controversial, Terry Richardson is a talented provocateur, and a trendy photographer with all the fashion houses fighting for his time. For the fragrance duo Intimately Beckham Night, David & Victoria called on his services too: the photographer goes backstage, inviting us right into the couple’s bed. The current, more restrained campaign for lingerie brand Princesse Tam Tam is another example of this popular photographer’s work. Note to Terry Richardson fans: Taschen has published a book called Terryworld.