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The first Sarah & Sebastian ring I bought was a delicate, abstract face of a girl in profile. She had feline eyes, heart lips and a perfect nose, and she reminded me of the girls I used to draw when I was young, slightly Matisse-like in their abstraction. As it so happens, this ring – part of a larger collection of jewellery of the same face – became the catalyst for fashion, and more specifically jewellery’s, prevailing obsession with abstract faces. Soon thereafter, floating, postmodernist eyes, noses and lips were popping up on fingers everywhere, hanging from lobes, draped around décolletages; Sarah & Sebastian’s girl had been – and continues to be – riffed by many (including some very blatant plagiarising). They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, and in the case of my beautiful ring of a girl (who I still admire fondly), such is the case. And now they have two new girls, both of whom are slightly more scented in character.
Introducing Rosa and Olympia; the debut fragrance from Sarah & Sebastian.
For the Sydney-based, contemporary jewellery brand, it was all about telling a story, the story of ROSA. It was also about finding another medium, one which would truly evoke the beauty she deserved. ROSA is the tale of a deconstructed rose and the beauty of the botanical form, deftly told through the art of fine jewellery. She is rendered in mixed metals – fine gold and silver – and semi-precious gemstones – sapphires, rubies, morganite and tourmaline – which sit alongside trillion diamonds inspired by the blush of rose petals and the green hues from each thorn. But for designers Sarah Gittoes and Robert Grynkofki, they wanted to give ROSA another voice. Another dimension. Another touchpoint. They found this voice in fragrance.
So how do two jewellers with no experience in perfumery launch not one, but two fragrances? With a little help from a friend. A friend who has a very good nose. Enter Samuel Gavran, a local Sydney perfumer with a (very good) nose for natural scent.
Self-taught in the art of fragrance, Gravan believes in mixing science with intuition, and applying traditional perfume principles to find the perfect balance and in turn the perfect scent. And much like his olfactory alchemy, the collaboration was the perfect melding of three artists with a shared artistic vision. “We found working with Samuel was reminiscent of our jewellery making process. Creating the scent was very hands on; we had a vision for the fragrance and learned from Samuel how to articulate this concept using a new medium. Our intention is for the ROSA collection to be experienced through the touchpoint of scent, as it gives another dimension to our vision and concept. Developing a perfume felt like a natural step for the brand; like jewellery, scent is an accessory that complements and is expressive of an individual style, explains Gittoes and Grynkofki.
A collaborative process from its conception, the three worked closely together to develop both fragrances, initially designed to be only one. But like its muse the rose, the duality of the flower needed to explored, both the tenderness and darkness, and two distinctly different fragrances were born.
First and foremost, the ROSA story is a story about a rose garden; its earth, its thorn, its leaf, its petal.
ROSA, the eponymous fragrance, is an olfactory deconstruction of this rose. It’s the deeper, richer of the two; a woody, floral scent with a spicy undertone. Myrrh resin and Moroccan cedar root the scent, while exuberant bergamot cuts through with zest and creates a beautiful balance between the femininity of a rose petal and sharpness of the earth, where the flower blooms. It is romantic and floral, but not of the conventional clichéd kind. Rather, esoteric and slightly moody, like a lover scorned (but comes back for more).
The second fragrance, OLYMPIA, is decidedly more playful in character. She embodies the adventurous spirit of the collection; modern, fresh and slightly eccentric. Her heart lies in the Mediterranean, with fig – sun-ripened and sticky from the hot sun – as the central note. But she is also spicy, with a generous sprinkling of Pink Pepper, piquant and tangy on the skin.
For Gavran, it was all about the process, which was deeply experimental and collaborative. “I am a visual person. I can visualise the components of a scent after becoming inspired by a physical object and then collecting the oils to create the perfume. While working closely with Sarah and Robert, I found the ROSA collection encouraged me to tell a story, one that encapsulated all the elements of a decadent rose garden; the flowers, the stems and the earth. The scents we created are modern with delicate nuances and complexities that give each a unique character and beauty.”
Much like the way precious metals bend and stretch around the human form, this new chapter in the Sarah & Sebastian story will envelop you in a whole new way – with a whole new scent.
The limited-edition fragrances, ROSA and OLYMPIA by SARAH & SEBASTIAN and Samuel Gravan will be available at www.sarahandsebastian.com, www.samuelgravan.com and instore at the flagship Sarah & Sebastian boutique.
Shop the look
OLYMPIA by SARAH & SEBASTIAN and Samuel Gravan, $80. shop now
ROSA by SARAH & SEBASTIAN and Samuel Gravan, $80. shop now
