The house of Tom Ford has extended its upscale Private Blend fragrance collection with a quartet of new scents, called Atelier D’Orient. It will be available from London Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 from July, before rolling out to selected airport doors, including Antalya, Beirut, Dubai, Larnaca, Moscow, Tel Aviv and Paris Charles de Gaulle, from September.
The four fragrances were inspired by the “sublime beauty, enigmatic sensuality and exquisite luxury of Asia”, according to the brand. “This collection is quintessential Private Blend,” noted Ford. “It is an olfactory exploration of Asia’s fusion of cultures and influences that is extremely beautiful, quite unexpected, and a reinvention of the region’s most precious ingredients.
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“Atelier D’Orient is an artisanal collection that captures subtle qualities of Asia – its elegant discretion, refined mastery of details and classical eroticism.”
Each new Private Blend fragrance aims to capture a different, distinctive mood, notably romance, colonial elegance, exoticism and sensuality.
“For Fleur de Chine, I imagined the romantic and mysterious women from Asia’s cinematic past – from the ’30s femme fatale in a cheongsam and dark lipstick, to the’60s Hong Kong heroine of In the Mood for Love,” Ford explained. “I wanted to capture that fascinating, exquisite and slightly scandalous femininity.”
The floral Fleur de Chine juice features notes of HuaLan flower, star magnolia, hyacinth and tea rose, complemented by jasmine tea, syringa, plum, white peach, woods, amber, styrax and vetiver.
“Rive d’Ambre is inspired by the tradition of presenting precious citrus fruits as gifts,” revealed Ford. “True to my nature, the sparkling fruits are wrapped in rich and warm sensuality.”
The juice is described as a golden-toned eau de cologne, and features citrus fruits (a talisman of good fortune in Asia), offset with amber, tarragon, cardamom, spearmint, Cognac oil and tolu balsam.
Plum Japanais, as its name suggests, was inspired by the ume plum. “I have always been fascinated by unusual ingredients from exotic cultures,” Ford revealed. “The ume plum”¦has great meaning in Oriental culture; in Japan and China, it is a sacred symbol of Spring. I wanted to craft a fragrance around the ume, because it has a texture and aroma that is so luscious.”
Described as a luxury fragrance for true scent connoisseurs, the Plum Japonais juice juxtaposes the ume plum with saffron, cinnamon bark and sawara cypress. Other key ingredients include camellia, agarbois, amber, benzoin and vanilla.
Completing the quartet is Shanghai Lily. “This fragrance began with a dream of the Silk and Spice Roads – the ancient, Asian trading routes for luxurious and precious goods,” Ford explained. “I imagined caravans piled high with treasures, and being surrounded by a multi-sensorial abundance of opulence.”
The floral oriental juice opens on notes of bitter orange, pink peppercorn and black pepper, combined with vetiver and cashmeran. The base blends benzoin, castoreum, cistus labdanum and guaiac wood, alongside vanilla and frankincense.
The Private Blend Atelier D’Orient fragrances are presented in the signature Private Blend bottles made of Cognac-brown glass. The flacons are finished with a gold-coloured name plaque and packaged in brown boxes.
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