by Annie Vischer
In the same year that Bronnley celebrates 130 years, the brand has appointed Fran Brown as Fragrance Consultant. She is the lady tasked by the brand to devise a fragrance that is truly innovative and pushes the boundaries on the norm. We sat down on a sunny spring day to talk all things SAVAGE FLOWER…
What was it about Bronnley that attracted you to the brand?
I always remember when I was younger, seeing the streamlined Bronnley packaging set against the flower illustrations. The names were always very relevant to the fragrances too, and the scents themselves were so natural and pure. There’s a familiar nostalgia about the brand for me. On a professional level they’re steeped in a history of innovative yet natural perfumery, and I was really intrigued to be a part of the next chapter. 130 years of fragrance is a seriously compelling draw!
What was your brief?
The brief was left fairly open, that’s always an attractive proposition to a perfume professional. The idea was to bring together key ingredients that are seemingly at odds with each other, and make them feel like they’re part of one whole. It was a challenge! And totally different to the set of historic scents that Bronnley’s associated with.
Did you use any unique notes or techniques whist working on the fragrance?
Its heart is made up of rose, neroli and jasmine – all notes we’re familiar with, but they’re rarely put together. Blended you can’t identify them. You can’t pick up SAVAGE FLOWER and pinpoint them. They are then combined with a base of amber, suede, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and cedarwood – they’re some of my favourite notes, they add depth and maturity. Then you take in the pops of mandarin, orange and the softer pear and plum notes, which add a distinct lightness to the fragrance. Together they give the floral heart notes an edge. Layering the oriental florals with those classically masculine base notes makes the overall SAVAGE FLOWER scent very complex.
When would you wear it?
I always think that how someone wears a perfume is so much down to the individual and what that fragrance means to them. Personally, it’s fast becoming my evening scent, but then again I’m wearing it on a sunny spring day today. I think my outfit combo warranted it. Mixing dark leather trousers with a floaty floral shirt just screams Savage Flower doesn’t it? A beautiful contradiction.
SAVAGE FLOWER is meant to give the impression of a woman comfortable in her femininity, as well as strong and aspirational. The woody notes pushing through the florals make the scent seductive. Every time I wear it I notice something new about the scent. A few people I know have said that it smells different every time they wear it, there are so many facets to it that it can continue to surprise you. That’s its rather magical quality I think, or perhaps its enigma.
Do you have any scents or notes that you’ve always been drawn to, whether because of nostalgia or personal taste?
I love taking scents and notes from a masculine palette and putting them into a feminine frame, in the same way that I like blending something incredibly complex with something very pure. We’ve done both within SAVAGE FLOWER.
How did the name come about?
When creating perfumes you always give it a working name – a label throughout the creative process – and that name has to be chosen carefully to give the perfume team a real sense of what you want from the fragrance when they put the notes together. SAVAGE FLOWER was the working name we gave to it, and it stuck with it the whole way through, it became so much a part of the fragrance that we never changed it.
Savage Flower EDP, 100ml RRP £65.00. Available exclusively in store at Fortnum & Mason from this month.