Monday 30 January 2017

STEPHAN'S SIX - MICHAEL ANGOVE


Michael Angove first collaborated with Jo Malone London back in 2014 but this month sees five of his designs used to re-promote their iconic soap line. Originally from Barry in South Wales, but now living in Devizes, he studied at the Winchester School of Art and then the Royal College of Art before working as a print designer for Jean Paul Gaultier, Hugo Boss and Liberty Department Store. With his work now exhibited all over the world I thought it was time to catch up with this fellow Welshman and ask him “Stephan’s Six”.

What is the first smell that you can remember?
I remember the scent of Wallflowers and the warmth of our Lilac tree, but in all seriousness the first smell I remember is a very bizarre thing. It is the smell of the inside of a doll’s head: clean plastic and nylon. It’s not particularly a nice smell, and certainly not a beautiful one, but it is a very early smell of my sister’s toys from the seventies. It is a fond memory of the toys of childhood.

What was the first perfume you remember your mum or dad wearing?
My mum wore Chanel No.5. I don’t actually remember the smell very well but I do remember the bottle in her bedroom. It looked like a square cut diamond and it felt incredibly precious inside its elegant box. I was captivated by it. I remember holding it up to the window to look through it into the sunlight.

What was the perfume of your twenties?
Comme des Garçons AND Fahrenheit are both of my twenties. I liked Comme des Garçons because it was alternative and unusual and a bit cerebral. The campaign said the scent was reminiscent of an "empty shoe box" and so I would wear it to design presentations and when I wanted to be considered a serious designer. Alternatively I felt that Dior's Fahrenheit was what real men wore. It has a fun yet masculine atmosphere that I used to put on for going out with friends. I still love it today.

What was your biggest perfume mistake?
On a shopping trip I tried Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male. I had a headache at the time and the scent drove it into a migraine. There is nothing wrong with the scent but mixed with a headache the outcome isn’t good.

You can only choose one perfume?
Straight away I say Wood Sage & Sea Salt by Jo Malone London. It’s fresh, honest and transportational. I love the conjuring of the beach for this recipe with its salt. It is individual and happy and reminds me of growing up on the Welsh coast line.

What perfume should I try?
I think give Oud & Bergamot a night out on the town. It’s from the cologne intense range by Jo Malone London. It’s rich and dark, mysterious and atmospheric. It has a slight scent of floral embers and like so many of their scents it is honest yet unique.

The Jo Malone designs are now available in the boutiques and for more information about Michael’s other work you can visit his website at MichaelAngove.com

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