Italian brand Alessi began experimenting with fragrances as early as the 1980s when designer Andrea Branzi developed the visionary idea of bringing the experience of the outdoors into interiors - he wanted to bring the atmosphere of the Dolomites and sea cliffs into interiors using fragrances. However, it is only now that a unique collection, The Five Seasons, has been launched by Marcel Wanders, who is highly regarded and renowned for his recognisable style.
Gateway to the world of fragrances in Milan
Alessi entered the world of fragrances with a hit at this year's Milan Design Week, a unique and prestigious show that showcases the novelties of major brands and designers every year. Attendees at the show could not only smell the unique aromas of the perfumes for the home created by the Italian brand in collaboration with a Dutch designer but could also experience them with their sense of sight. The Alessi stand was arranged like a secret garden, where each fragrance corresponded to one of the five (not four!) seasons.
"We believe that fragrance is part of interior design. It becomes part of the experience of the home," says Carlo Gasparini, Design Manager at Alessi, "it is invisible but deeply perceptible".
An apotheosis of nature and sensory experience
As Alberto Alessi explains, The Five Seasons collection is a celebration of nature by recreating the cyclical experience of the seasons in the form of fragrances for the home: from the regeneration that follows the cold winter and the awakening of nature in spring, to the full bloom of summer, to the harvest of autumn fruits. These four traditional seasons are also joined by a fifth, called Transcendence, enigmatic and framed in black.
Seasons framed in an unprecedented form...
"The Alessi home fragrance collection invites us to discover the vastness of nature and embrace its spirit in our home. The intensity and vitality of the fragrances waft through the air day and night, immersing us in an experience of constant transformation. 'The natural change of the seasons perfectly reflects our life cycle: that is why we have created fragrances that speak to our souls and engage us in a transcendent and transformative way,' - Marcel Wanders himself explains.
Scent and visual experience in one
The fragrances were created on the advice of one of the most important perfume manufacturers in Grasse. The character of the individual fragrances is expressed by their highly evocative names:
- Brrr (winter) is a mature, fresh and bright fragrance with notes of bergamot, lily of the valley and musk,
- Ahhh (spring) is young and delicate with the freshness of a mystical garden and notes of cardamom, hyacinth and vetiver,
- Hmm (summer), lively and hearty, warm and inviting with aromas of figs, red fruits and wood,
- Grrr (autumn) is a complex, dense, smoky and sensual fragrance with a blend of incense, cedarwood and moss,
- Shhh, or fifth season - mysterious, with notes of eucalyptus, rose and patchouli.
The fragrances are presented in the form of scented candles and elegant diffusers. The collection is further complemented by a diverse range of home accessories: a lava stone aroma diffuser, a bottle candle holder and a bee-shaped candle extinguisher. Precious materials such as porcelain and mahogany wood and nature-inspired elements such as twigs shape the aesthetic of this sophisticated collection.
Scented candles and accessories
It took the brand three years to create a range of five fragrances in beautiful flacons and candles! We can therefore imagine that these perfectly developed compositions are on par with the most sophisticated perfumes we can find in the best drugstores. The only difference is that Alessi's fragrances will fill your home with the scent of a special season.
The Five Seasons candles are housed in porcelain vessels closed with a decorated ashwood lid that can also be used as a saucer. They are made from natural vegetable wax and have a cotton/linen wick. They are available in two sizes (225g and 595g) and can burn for approximately 40 to 90 hours. The candles dedicated to the four seasons are framed in white vessels, while the fifth season dedicated to transcendence is distinguished by its black colour.
The accessories that accompany the candles are equally intriguing. A candle extinguisher will come in handy for quickly and smokelessly extinguishing the candles, while an extravagant wine stopper and candle holder in one will serve as an interesting dinner party gadget.
Craftsmanship
Naturalistic diffusers and oils
A fragrance oil enclosed in a porcelain flacon, with mahogany leaves, best captures the spirit of Marcel Wanders' collection. The rounded, flat vessel with a short and slender neck contains five fragrances inside, which are transmitted to the interior through delicate wooden leaves, and are made of sapele mahogany, chosen for its porosity and beautiful colour.
The fragrance diffuser is sold together with a 150 ml bottle of essence. The fragrance lasts for two to three months depending on the temperature and humidity levels in the home. The design of the diffuser's rounded base allows the aroma bowl to be rotated: just give it a slight nudge and it will start to rotate, allowing air to circulate between the leaves and the fragrances to diffuse throughout the room.
Lava stone fragrance
A fragrance that has been given an extra setting, meanwhile, is Shhh, which is also available as a lava stone diffuser. A small tray made of ash wood with a piece of black lava stone, equipped with dropper oil, is a unique product that will also be an original decoration in the living room. The fragment of black lava stone comes from Sardinia; the characteristic porosity of the material makes it very effective in absorbing and releasing the fragrance pleasantly.
Interior perfumes
In contrast, interior perfume sprays are sold in glass containers. These elegant fragrances were inspired by the ritual of aromatherapy, enabling you to enjoy a wonderful moment of calm during hectic everyday life. The fragrances are sprayed with a lovely pump, just like in the old perfume bottles.
Gabriele Chiave, Creative Director at Marcel Wanders sums up the experience provided by The Five Seasons collection as follows: "Discovering fragrances is like cooking - combining all the elements builds a complex world of moods.
We hope that users of these candles and perfumes will discover their memories and emotions through them. To fully appreciate these fragrances, however, you have to smell them! Come to our shop in Warsaw for this stunning feast for the senses.
