Thursday 28 September 2017

Miller Harris Launch TENDER and SCHERZO

Fragrance launches happen nearly every week and each one tries to outdo the other with scale and cost. Miller Harris took a very different approach today when they revealed their two new fragrances, Tender and Scherzo, to an eager group of bloggers and journalists. They presented, in minimalist surroundings, two distinctly different visual interpretations, but the character and soul of the project was perfectly captured. One brief, two perfumers, two fragrances. It’s an interesting experiment and one that has definitely paid off. So, let me walk you through “kaleidoscopic peonies” as we discover “Tender Is The Night”.

Miller Harris was founded in 2000 by Lyn Harris, an English perfumer who spent five years training in Paris before moving to Robertet in the French town of Grasse. Being surrounded by the finest quality materials available to any perfumer, Lyn very quickly developed a love for these innovative ingredients and years later this would show itself in the company’s philosophy. In their own words, “whilst respecting tradition, Miller Harris strives to push the boundaries, creating exquisitely crafted fragrances that are innovative yet timeless.” That couldn’t be truer of Tender and Scherzo.

The brief for the new fragrances came from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is The Night” which Sarah Rotheram, CEO of Miller Harris, had read whilst on holiday. One particular passage grabbed her attention, “she walked on, between kaleidoscopic peonies massed in pink clouds, black and brown tulips and fragile mauve stemmed roses, transparent like sugar flowers in a confectioner’s window - until, as if the scherzo of colour could reach no further intensity, it broke off suddenly in mid-air.” She gave this to two perfumers, Bertrand Duchaufour and Mathieu Nardin, with instructions that each come up with their own interpretation.

The two fragrances sit happily on their own but they can also be thought of as different sides of the same coin. Mathieu Nardin created Scherzo and seems to have been drawn to the idea of the “confectioner's window”. A delicate dusting of sugar over a rich woody base perfectly compliments the floral heart and is brightened by the citrus “mirror of angles”. Bertrand Duchaufour by contrast was inspired by the concept of light and dark for Tender. He skillfully creates a green sparkling floral that, whilst it has delicious resin notes, is given a watery edge from the cyclamen.

The venue for the launch was Noho Studios in London and it was split into a visual and emotional space. McQueens Florist provided a pathway of flowers on the one side whilst a visual kaleidoscope of images and text was projected onto delicate voile on the other. Internal thought and external stimuli perfectly captured by the Miller Harris team. It’s hard to choose a favourite from Tender and Scherzo, both are beautiful, so it will be interesting to see the response when they launch in January 2018. May I suggest that you ask Father Christmas for money this year and keep it safe until you try them.

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