Etat Libre d’Orange Afternoon Of A Faun At The Museum Of Arts and Design:The Making of a Transcent

 

the_afternoon_of_a_faun perfume

In 1912, Vaslav Nijinsky, the greatest dancer of the 20th Century performed his erotically charged ballet that was inspired by the poem L'aprèsmidi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé, its score by Debussy, and impressionist set by Leon Bakst shattered every notion of dance and stunned and stirred Paris. The Faun a gentle half-creature, half-human admires a nymph as she bathes, and after a bit of flirtation she departs leaving the Faun with only her scarf. In the final moments of the dance the Faun lowers his body on top of the scarf ending in what has become to be known as a scandalous climax.

Arriving at the Museum of Arts and Design, it wasn’t long before I made my first impressions of Etat Libre d’Orange’s Afternoon Of A Faun on the skin:

Warm.  Salty.   Balanced.  Treble low.  A baritone.  Confusing.  Sex.  Skin.  Mystery.  A Lift.  Warmth.  Hovering.  Sweet.  Timelessness.   Nature.  Nature.  Nature. A Chypre.

One hundred years after Vaslav Nijinsky’s dance at the Ballet Russes, a cutting edge brand had the vision to connect a seasoned 21st century perfumer and a charismatic and outspoken poet and performance artist to reflect on perfumery past and present, and challenge us to think out of the box when we choose how to scent our bodies.

chandler burr etienne de swardt, justin vivian bond, ralf schwiegert 

(l. to r.) Chandler Burr, Etienne De Swardt, Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, Ralf Schwieger

February 4, 2013 , Etat Libre d’Orange hosted four visionary voices at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD): Chandler Burr, Director of Olfactory Art at MAD; Ralf Schwieger, Perfumer and Artist in Residency at MAD; Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, poet and performance artist; and Etat Libre d’Orange’s founder Etienne de Swardt. The evening was a lively and at times outrageous mix of discussion, video, song, and smelling. The panel discussed the inception of the fragrance that included Mx. Justin Vivian Bond’s search for a signature scent. The perfume “brief” went like this. “Sex in the grass in the afternoon with flowers nearby.”  Ralf Schwieger received this brief along with Etienne de Swardt‘s blessing that “gives the gift of the formula to the perfumer” that means the perfumer can indulge with no constraints, and soon they were off. Mr. Schwieger told us there are 50-80 raw materials in Afternoon Of A Faun, and he likened his approach to a “baroque” style of perfumery. He handpicked six notes for us to experience. With each note we began to almost build the fragrance with the perfumer. We began with Myrrh, referred to as tears of myrrh, giving us a clue to its resinous nature and earthy quality. Rose Geranium, added a floral quality; Cinnamon, for sweetness; Everlasting, salty grounding element; Evernyl-moss, it’s almost difficult to smell, it has a glassy airy quality; Isobutyl Quinoline, leather

 

Mx justin vivian bond the afternoon of the faun 

At the end of the evening, I asked Etienne de Swardt about the quiet nature of the fragrance and how it surprised me; I guess I expected the fragrance to be louder speaking to the scandal of Nijinsky’s Ballet.  He said, the fragrance captures “the quiet silence of schizophrenia”; referring to Nijinsky’s slow fade into madness at 29. There is timelessness about this fragrance; I can almost hear Debussy’s score while I wear it. Mx. Justin Vivian Bond regards Afternoon Of A Faun as a “transcent, a tribute to the past.”  Perhaps it’s Mx. Justin Vivian Bond’s way of saying that they certainly sees themselves as a mentor and leader for the LGBTQ community; Mx. Justin Vivian Bond speaks for those who couldn’t (in the past) and for those who still can’t in the present.

 
nijinsky faun

Vaslav Nijinsky

 

When Etienne de Swardt reminded me that the Afternoon Of A Faun has gone through three iterations “Poetry, Dance, (and now) Scent.” I couldn’t help but imagine Nijinsky’s spirit being released into the ether. The fragrance might allow him to live again. Afternoon Of A Faun takes us closer to the gentleness and innocence of nature, and once there things seem easier. The fragrance captures the “sexual charge” one can receive from nature, as Mx. Justin Vivian Bond intended in the original brief.

During the Q&A  Karen Dubin of Sniffapalooza  asked Mx. Justin Vivian Bond  if the Afternoon of the Faun fragrance was created to conjure up Justin Vivian Bond's past scent memories. The response was simple, “ I just wanted to smell good.” 

Believe me you do.

Valerie Vitale, Contributing Editor

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12 comments

  • Scent trail says:

    I wish that I lived in NY and could have experienced this
    But reading your article was just like being there
    I gained a new understanding about the complexity of creating a scent that incorporates the past and the present as well as what goes into the creative process
    I enjoyed your impressions and the video was amazing with the footage if Nijinsky and Mx Bond; it was nice to see what ralf shwieger looks like and Etienne de swardt speak so passionately about the non commercial stance they take. Michelyn Camen you were great in that video (and u are a beautiful lady)
    Sex and flowers in the grass ; sounds beautiful and I now will buy the afternoon of the faun un sniffed
    I swear so many faces looked familiar from Facebook
    Nature,nature, more nature and a chypre

  • Having once been a professional ballet dancer I very much enjoyed this post! Agreed with Scent trail ( Michelyn IS indeed stunning 🙂 !). And Valerie, your description of the event and the perfume definitely piqued my interest!
    thank you for sharing your experience with one who could not be there !

  • just breathe says:

    Valerie- thanks for sharing 🙂 ! I am always interested in the inspiration behind a fragrance. This looked like a really awesome event!

  • I heard a lot about this event – what a fun experience to sniff each of the individual components of a scent. I haven’t tried Afternoon of a Faun, but am excited to do so. Thanks for the article!

  • Wonderful review Valerie, I personally love this fragrance, its very unique and easy to wear by both male and female fragrance lovers. Apply with a light hand and you will be amazed by the beautiful dry down 🙂

  • I also attended this event, Valerie. I wish I’d know you were there so I could have said hello.
    The best part for me was smelling the individual notes and how they changed as we added each one until the final version. And I too was surprised at the delicacy and elegance of the scent; like you I thought it was going to be bigger and bolder.
    It was a very special evening. Your review summed it up perfectly!

  • This sounds like it was a very special event, and now I can’t wait to try the fragrance. It’s also wonderful to see Ca Fleure Bon actively participating in fragrance events!

  • This looks like it was a singular event– the chemistry of the room! Thank you for this article and the multimedia contributions along with the text—especially the video!
    Read about many of the people speaking but I’ve never actually heard/seen them speak (hi Michelyn Camen!). “The rest is pure *nonsense*” ha love the accent
    Mx. Justin Vivian Bond has a lot of presence and I liked learning about the performance side of the artistic inspiration for Afternoon of a Faun, both present and past.

    Smelling each component ingredient one at a time sounds like a wonderfully enjoyable and educational evening!

    The comment about being surprised by the quietness of the scent struck a chord–I was a little surprised by that ad with a lovely lady with flowing hair and a sort of classic hollywood sculpted face–it seemed so conventional, except for the text, which I had to slow down to read. Then I saw her adam’s apple on second review and thought about how quietly subversive it really is. Fits with the whole concept though am a little iffy on the schizophrenia bit–the charge from nature and just wanting to smell good resonates more with me.

    I think it’s really great that passionate people are taking initiative to share olfactory art and further its appreciation. Wish I lived in NY…