Industrial; The Scents of both our Roots and Future

When you hear about British motor cars, leather, and luxury goods, what do you think about? If your answer was Dunhill London right from the start, then you should continue reading. If it wasn’t your answer, well you should continue to read too since goods news are announced today.

Dunhill London, previously called Alfred Dunhill Ltd is a luxury good brand from London founded in 1893. Nowadays, the House makes menswear (it had its own runway on this year’s Fashion Week), accessories and fragrances, but a first, Alfred Dunhill, the founder of the brand, was doing car accessories since there was a really huge demand at the time. The accessories released by Alfred Dunhill Ltd has so much success that it even gave the brand a strapline “everything but the motor”. Thanks to this success with motorities, the House grew little by little, in particular with the opening of two new shops in Mayfair announcing its arrival into the luxury industry and then started to expand worldwide in the 1920s

On April the 8th 2019, the luxury brand launched a whole new collection (adding to its existing stable)  of delicate fragrances under the name of the Signature Collection. Usually, the name of this elegant collection would make people think about Dunhill’s lighters since they are featured with the brand’s actual signature. Dunhill London put its signature at a whole different level here, using all the materials and elements the House is famous to work with and evoking them all in this new collection of four quality obsessed fragrances. It links everything the brand has made so far with its bright future.

The first fragrance of this luxury collection is Indian Sandalwood. This woody scent, made in collaboration with perfumer Carlos Benaim was made to transport you immediately into the East and feel the Indian breeze. Bergamot as a top note brings a refreshing kick with its sweet and sparkling scent that goes perfectly into an oriental fragrance, while the Green Tree Moss as a mid note and the Sandalwood, coming directly from India and used as a dry down note have the woody and smooth scent of Indian forests.

Moroccan Amber, the second fragrance of the collection, was made in collaboration with perfumer Gino Percontino. Moroccan Amber is a journey full of enhancing experiences, from the warm and sensual Cardamom as a top note and the spicy Saffron as a mid note that are transporting you to a lovely day into India’s spices markets, or into the Greek sunny coast, to the warm Amber as a dry note that plunges you into the deepest seas, swimming with fishes and admiring the beautiful warm oceans. It is an adventure on Earth that offers a smell of the most beautiful places on our beloved planet.

British Leather, the third fragrance from the Signature Collection, made in collaboration with Pierre Negrin is a really personal fragrance. Indeed, the scent is a true evocation of Dunhill London’s roots with a lovely duality with what is the luxury brand making these modern days. Bergamot, reassuring and sparkling, is the top note, and an essential fruit to use in modern perfumery followed by Violet Leaf as a mid note, adding a really flowery, deep and suave scent to the fragrance. The dry down note, Leather Accord, gives a smokey and animal punch as well as leading our spirits to Dunhill London’s first loves: motorities and harnesses. It is what made them who they are and this fragrance is a perfect tribute to the luxury brand’s founder Alfred Dunhill, and to the brand’s precious works with leather.

Arabian Desert, the last but not least fragrance of the collection, was made in collaboration with perfumer Alexandra Monet. It is an Oud fragrance evoking a day in the infinite and magnificent deserts of Arabia. It starts with spicy and warm Pink Pepper as a top note, then goes flowery, sweet and fresh with Rose as a mid note, and finally, Oud, the beautiful tree, someone called the God’s tree, with its woody, deep and mysterious scent is the dry down note that immerses us into the Orient’s mysteries, and of course its deserts, being the most enigmatic but beautiful place of the Orient.

All the bottles of these four splendid fragrances were made of clear thick cut glass that reveals for each perfume its ingredients with its colour. The bottles also all have a diamond shape design (that is featured on the outer box too) reminding of the House’s engineering heritage and raised bases and pedestal. Finally, they have beautifully handcrafted gunmetal grey cap features, as an eyeblink to Dunhill’s past with the motors. What a beautiful tribute to the luxury brand’s heritage, as well as a splendid way to look at the future!

To shop this delicate and powerful collection, here is a link to Harrods:https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/dunhill/indian-sandalwood-eau-de-parfum-p000000000006349882