Bond No. 9 and Sak's Fifth Avenue
When New York’s Iconic Luxury Specialty Store Meets Luxury New York Perfumer,
the Results are Bond No. 9’s Saks Fifth Avenue for Him … and Saks Fifth Avenue for Her—Firsts in the New Genre of Retail Eaux de Parfum
Saks Fifth Avenue and Bond No. 9 jointly announcethe debut of Saks Fifth Avenue for Him, along with its
partner scent, Saks Fifth Avenue for Her. This is the
first time a specialty store has ever commissioned
a perfumery to design scents, marking the start
of a bold new direction in upscale retailing and a
new genre in luxury fragrances.
It is fitting that Saks, which for years has defined New York retail elegance, turned to
Bond No. 9, the highly praised creator of artisanal
New York neighborhood scents, to develop two
fragrances that treat Saks, the iconic destination
store located in the heart of Fifth Avenue, as an
ultra-sophisticated neighborhood unto itself—
one that has long played a role in defining the world’s
most sophisticated super-city.
Deborah Walters, Senior Vice President and
General MerchandiseManager, Cosmetics and
Fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue said, “Saks Fifth
Avenue is excited to be collaborating with Bond
No. 9 on Saks Fifth Avenue for Him and Saks
Fifth Avenue for Her. This will allow our customer
across the country to experience the
quintessential Saks Fifth Avenue scent.
Everyone here at Saks is thrilled to be a part of such a
unique fragrance collection of New York neighborhoods
and feel it is such an honor to have two scents dedicated
to our New York flagship.”
Saks Fifth Avenue for Her signals the return of the classic gardenia eau de parfum, given a chic contemporary twist with the addition of sparkling jasmine and vetiver, along with smooth vanilla. This all-white bouquet captures the fashion-forward essence of 21st century Saks, while at the same time expressing the eclectic downtown spirit of NoHo-based Bond No. 9.
Saks Fifth Avenue for Him is an elegant aqua scent, containing an initial dash of Sicilian bergamot for coolness, followed by cardamom, amber, and cedarwood for warmth. What gives this eau de parfum its metro-modernity is the addition of notes that are new to luxury perfumes: a marine accord … fiery chilis … seductive incense … soothing guaiac wood from South America. This blend of classic and contemporary reflect the eclectic downtown spirit and style of NoHo-based Bond No. 9.
The flacon design displays the retailer’s vibrant new white-on-black logo--one of many examples of Saks turning to its venerable past in order to energize its future. As depicted on everything from shopping bags to the store’s Fifth Avenue awnings, the pattern consists of quadrants containing refined, deconstructed, and then reconstructed versions of the signature stacked-script Saks logo that held sway from 1973-1997. The letters now serve as design elements containing Saks’ “DNA” motif. (Visible, for instance, on the front of the Bond No. 9 flacon are parts of the “n” and “A” from “Avenue.”). The slender bottle is the Bond No. 9 superstar flacon, its circular centerpiece logo inscribed with both SAKS FIFTH AVENUE and BOND NO. 9. Terron Schaefer, Group Senior Vice President, Creative and Marketing, Saks Fifth Avenue said, “Our Saks Fifth Avenue DNA is the essential element of our unique identity.
The DNA found on Bond No. 9 Saks for Him and Saks for Her bottle reflects both the logo and the brand. Like Saks Fifth Avenue’s expertly edited merchandise, every square of the DNA is an integral piece of the brand. As a historical retailer located on Fifth Avenue, Saks Fifth Avenue is thrilled that Bond No. 9’s Saks for Him and Saks for Her will become part of our heritage as the first scent ever created for the company.”
Arriving on counter on September 1st 2007 for Him and October 1st 2007 for Her, Saks Fifth Avenue for Him and Her will be sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide and at Bond No. 9’s four New York stores. Price: 3.4 oz, $185, 1.7 oz, $125. 
Bond No. 9 - Sak's Fifth Avenue for Her Bond No. 9 - Sak's Fifth Avenue for Him
Four Reviews of the new fragrance.
We were so crazy about the new scent coming from Bond No. 9
and Saks Fifth Avenue that we will be running reviews all month-
By Christine Lewandowski
Laurice Rahme of Bond No. 9 fame has released the next of its New York scents.
This release marks the first time Bond No. 9 has created a scent for a well
known shopping landmark: Saks Fifth Avenue, which, could arguably be a
New York neighborhood in and of itself.
Here is an excerpt from the press release:
“Saks Fifth Avenue for Her signals the return of the classic gardenia eau de
parfum, given a chic contemporary twist with the addition of sparkling jasmine
and vetiver, along with smooth vanilla. This all-white bouquet captures the
fashion-forward essence of 21st century Saks, while at the same time
expressing the eclectic downtown spirit of NoHo-based Bond No. 9.”
Before analyzing the scent, let me share with you my impressions.
Here in my mind, a stage is set with sultry lighting, lots of lush fabric, the feeling is opulent. Enter Billy Holiday, stage right. Enter Veronica Lake, stage left.
Without a doubt, their presence is a tangible force in the room. They walk, pout, chat to someone they pass…they exist in the moment. As an observer, you enjoy the sight, the sound, the aroma of them. It is as if the rest of the room has fallen away. Only you and the stunning women have substance. You watch but do not presume to engage them. All too soon, the song ends, the room is empty, the women you experienced are gone. The only proof that they were ever even there is the lingering scent of gardenia.
These are my first impressions of Saks Fifth Avenue for Her. The fragrance evokes a presence, an image of classic femininity from another era. The first and most prominent note is a rich gardenia. I am not a scientist but I would think that this would be a difficult note to work with. It could so easily be overdone and the outcome would not be pleasant. Nothing could be further from the truth with Saks Fifth Avenue for Her. The gardenia is exceptionally well done and although jasmine is one of the ingredients, I would not consider this a jasmine perfume. Instead, the jasmine and vetiver, which is not a white flower by the way, provide a seamless structure, melding top to base. Vetiver is an excellent choice to blend with jasmine: where vetiver is “calming” , jasmine is “relaxing and emotionally warming” . Now, I do not presume to know if the contents are essential oils or fragrance oils. However, it is obvious that the creators selected the notes with some knowledge of aromatherapy. Pure gardenia absolute is available and the other listed ingredients are available as essential oils. Having experienced this fragrance, whatever the oil composition, the ingredients smell expensive. Unfortunately, there is no escaping the obligatory vanilla note. Here, at least, I do not find the vanilla overpowering.
Overall, Saks Fifth Avenue for Her is a promising addition to the Bond No 9 library. I can imagine it will become a signature scent for anyone who appreciates a well-constructed, memorable fragrance. Bond No. 9 Saks Fifth Avenue for Her is memorable because, if you choose to wear it, you will be remembered by anyone who encounters you and your sillage. Be prepared to tell the curious what you are wearing and to be remembered, but in a good way, a very good way.
Davis, Patricia, “Aromatherapy An A-Z”, page 342. The C.W. Daniel Company Limited, 1993
Ibid, page 188
Saks Fifth Avenue for Her
By Kathy Patterson
Notes: jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, vetiver, vanilla
This is not your grandmother’s gardenia perfume! The first of two fragrances commissioned by venerable New York fashion institution Saks Fifth Avenue, Bond No. 9 Saks Fifth Avenue for Her opens with notes of jasmine and tuberose. The gardenia, supreme queen of white flowers, becomes evident within a minute or so of this largely linear fragrance. The effect of this triple whammy of all white is intense. Elegantly so. White floral fragrances, particularly a powerhouse combination like this, can be overwhelming, and for some more sensitive people, headache-inducing. Bond’s genius of adding a dash of earthy vetiver and sweet vanilla keep this luxurious new scent grounded. The result is a gorgeously creamy and warm floral with an underlying tropical quality reminiscent of coconut cream. The drydown retains all of the gorgeous heady quality, but speaks more in a whisper.
Saks Fifth Avenue for Him
by Kathy Patterson
Notes: chili, black pepper, cardamom, bergamot, incense, guaiac wood, amber
Initially, Saks Fifth Avenue for Him is all about a bright bergamot note dancing among spices. There’s a bit of pepperiness, more black pepper than chili, and combined with the sharp yet warm sweetness of cardamom, it lends depth to the opening notes of this scent. The pepper/cardamom gives way, quite seamlessly, to incense and the delicious resinous quality of guaiac wood. There’s a bit of bitter sweetness in here too, almost licorice-like in quality. Several minutes into the drydown, a soft amber note is detectable.
Merely reading the notes would give the impression that this scent is a spicy woodsy fragrance, however, it is actually strongly aquatic. All of the pepper and incense seem to be submerged in a cool blue-green quality that floats somewhere just above the skin. It’s only when one takes a deeper sniff that the other elements make themselves known.
Bond No. 9 Sak's Fifth Avenue for Her
by Juvy Santos
It's...stunning.
I'm not sure what I expected, in a year full of other, notable white-floral, gardenia-based fragrance launches. I certainly didn't expect it to wow me, no, not in any sense of the word. But Saks for Her distinguished itself almost immediately from the run of other gardenia based scents, in much the same way my other gardenia-love, Stephanie, does.
Only a true gardenia at the outside, far creamier than its sister of similar distribution, Estee Lauder Private Collection. Not very green. The initial blast is classic white floral bouquet--creamy and slightly tropical, rounded out by the efferve
scence of jasmine. But within moments, the triumvirate of tuberose/gardenia/jasmine gives way to an interplay with an almost woodsy vanilla. And there it stays, a deceptively simple scent. A white flower bouquet morphing into an earthy, rooty, yet comforting base. The drydown lasts for quite some time, relatively linear after the top notes fade. For me, it's almost a comfort scent rather than a glamorous scent--something about the grounded quality of the vanilla/vetiver base keeps this from sending me off into flights of fancy of red carpets and decollete. But it delivers, amply. This fragrance is lush, deep, and a particularly likeable rendition of the white floral bouquet.
Bond No. 9 Sak's Fifth Avenue for Her
By Amber Gibson
For all the perfume lovers who love Bond no. 9's fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue "For Her" will not disappoint. The gardenia scent is very uplifting and classy, the perfect scent to represent Saks Fifth Avenue. The gardenia comes through very clearly, but is not overwhelming.
Notes of jasmine and vanilla add a an underlying touch of sophisication to this elegant floral scent. The scent does not go on strong, but with a subtlety so natural that I began to think that I just naturally smelled this good! While I was worried that the fragrance would fade throughout the day, Saks Fifth Avenue "For Her" has been lingering on my wrists all day.
Bond No. 9's new "For Her" fragrance comes out on the 1st of September and it is definitely worth the wait!
Christine Lewandowski is a full time mom who is passionate about fragrance. She once suffered from migraines, which lead to her study of aromatherapy, Therapeutic Touch, reflexology, Spiritual Response Therapy and Johrei.
As the former Director of Procurement Programs for the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at Rutgers Graduate School of Management (Newark), Christine compiled and edited the first Procurement Directory. Rutgers University Press published the Directory.
Christine is a graduate of the University of Virginia, former educator & voracious reader. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
Kathy Patterson has had an interest in fragrance all her life. Some of her fondest
memories involve digging through her mother's toiletries and playing with her scented soaps.
(She hated Mom's Youth Dew though.) At the ripe age of 40, Kathy discovered niche
scents and Sniffapalooza. Now she's getting out of hand with the perfume collection,
and her husband Neal thinks she's maybe a little crazy.
Kathy is a jewelry designer/graphic artist/research analyst who lives in Baltimore,
MD with her loving hubby and two cats. You can find her all over the place as theminx,
including her site, http://theminx.com.
Eléna Cattafi of Bond No. 9
Eléna Cattafi
eCommerce Marketing Manager
Bond No. 9 New York
9 Bond Street
New York, NY 10012
www.bondno9.com
Eléna, for all the new members, can you tell us
briefly about your Bond No. 9's History?
Bond No.9 was founded and created by Laurice Rahme,
a perfume lover who grew up in Paris and has lived in
New York for the past 15 years. Each fragrance she
has created represents a specific downtown, midtown
or uptown locale or a citywide sensibility, ultimately
creating ‘scents of New York.’
What are some of the most popular fragrances and/or
products in the range and what about them do you think makes them register to so many people?
Some of the favorites include Wall Street, Eau de New York and Chinatown. I think it has to do with the fact that these scents are admired by both men and women. However, our best-seller (and one of my personal favorites!), is The Scent of Peace. Routinely, men and women love it again, and I’m sure the concept of ‘bottling peace,’ so to speak, appeals to something inside every person. Not to mention the fact that the bottle, simply put, is pretty!
What are you most excited to share with the Sniffapalooza guests at this fall's event?
I’m sure Laurice will agree with me when I say it’s the fragrance that’s getting much attention right now; not only for its fragrant personality, but for the man it was created in honor of. Quickly to earn association with the “art of perfumery,” Andy Warhol Silver Factory is a true Bond No. 9 creation, in the fact that it’s innovative, unquestionably divine, and nothing like you’ve smelt before.
If there is one thing a Sniffapalooza member loves - it is to try the newest scent or product possible. What can our guests look forward to in the New Product/Release department?
Again, Andy Warhol Silver Factory. It is a true oddity and ingenious creation in a world of perfume monotony. It appeals to all age groups and backgrounds and is sure to be a real hit, especially among those who know perfume best. We can’t wait for the unveiling of Andy Warhol Silver Factory, as the scent has done true justice to the artist himself.
ANDY WARHOL SILVER FACTORY
by Bond No. 9
By Mark David Boberick
NOTES:
Top: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Lavender
Heart: Violet, Incense, Jasmine, Iris
Base: Amber, Wood Resin, Cedarwood
Andy Warhol is alive and well and living in a fabulous
perfume bottle. The first collaboration between the Andy
Warhol Foundation and Bond No. 9, the edgy, extremely
successful downtown perfumery is sure to impress.
Incense lovers: pay attention!
What may seem like an odd marriage actually makes a lot
more sense than you might think. Andy Warhol loved perfume.
He once said, “Another way to take up more space is with
perfume. I really love wearing perfume.” This year marks the
20th anniversary of his death and what better way to continue
to celebrate one of the most influential artists of the 20th century
than with a series of Warhol inspired fragrances. Behold Silver
Factory.
Bond conceived Silver Factory as “a smooth, smoky, spicy
blend of interlacing incense – a key scent of the ‘60s.”
Created by Aurelien Guichard, Silver Factory opens with a lot of bergamot. Bond describes the bergamot as being “soft and gentle – as if it had a hangover,” and I couldn’t agree more. It mingles beautifully with the already present incense, right away setting the mood for this fragrance as being calm, cool, and collected. The lavender and the grapefruit in the opening are minimal to my nose, making their appearance only for several brief seconds at a time. In a few minutes the overture has finished and the curtain is now up. Andy Warhol’s favorite scent, violet starts to emerge. It is not a strong violet, and like all of the florals in this fragrance, it is supported by the incense. From the very start of this fragrance, there is a definite metallic quality – and there would have to be, right? The silvery Iris and the sultry jasmine are never strong, but they are there. It is around this time that things start to warm up. The Incense is full, sultry, and smoky and it supports the dissonant florals which are now like “warmed-up, molten silver.” The rather extraordinary part of this fragrance emerges around this time, about an hour after application – when things are both warm and cool – we have the metallic coolness paired with the warmth and smokiness of the incense with the florals vying for sides – not sure where they belong. It is absolutely breathtaking. The drydown is a simple, soothing aroma of resiny amber with a touch of cedarwood. Nothing strong, nothing different either, but very nice.
The Factory was Andy Warhol’s original studio on 47th Street in New York City from 1964-1968. It was called the Silver Factory because it was decorated in silver paint and tin-foil by Warhol’s friend Billy Name, whose own apartment was seen by Warhol who then requested Name repeat the décor to his Studio. Name also used shattered mirrors and Warhol would often bring in silver balloons to float around the ceiling. At the Factory, Warhol threw groundbreaking parties for the hip, artsy types. It was also here that Warhol created and mass-produced his art. The Factory, and especially its silver-skin represented the decadence of the 1960s.
Decadent? Yes, Bond’s new creation is indeed decadent – but it favors the more luxurious aspect of the word. It is luxuriously priced at $230 for a 100 ml bottle making it the most expensive Bond creation to date. The reason? Bond has never been shy about their perfumes – they are very quick to tell you the percentage of perfume oil in their eau de parfums – much higher than other fragrance companies. With Silver Factory, however, Bond has gone above and beyond their standard, already high percentage of 22 percent to make Silver Factory a 28 percent concentration. They are calling it just that, in fact – a Perfume Concentrate, much in the manner of a can of soup. Remember, we are also talking about Warhol here and one of the most recognizable images of Modern Art is the Campbell’s soup can which Warhol painted excessively. This “Condensed” perfume comes in a textured silver signature star-shaped bottle that has a myriad of Warhol references. Silver Factory’s label takes its inspiration from the soup can, but in true Warhol style, the colors have been psychedelically flipped into a world of turquoise and purple. The Bond subway token, substitutes for the Campbell’s emblem, bridging the 2 color fields together. This bottle is kitschy – exactly what it should be. It never once compromises the artistic integrity of the perfumery or the artist but is a very happy solution to the marriage.
The fragrance is divine, the best new release from Bond No. 9 since Chinatown. It has excellent sillage and superb longevity. It is quite avant-garde and thank god for that. In a market dominated by fruity florals, it is refreshing to smell a smoky, heavy scent. This is time-warp in a bottle. Most importantly for me, this scent truly represents everything Andy Warhol stands for. It’s not just about creating an evocative atmosphere – which Silver Factory certainly does. It’s about taking something that we as perfume lovers all know – a smoky incense scent – and re-interpreting it, because this is exactly what Andy Warhol did. He took a photo of Marilyn Monroe and gave it back to us in 7 polychromatic different forms.
He took what we all know and spun it on its axis. This is precisely what Silver Factory has achieved; your typical Incense with a fascinating new twist.
Thank you Laurice Rahme and thank you Andy Warhol.
Andy Warhol Silver Factory will be released on December 1st and will be a limited
distribution scent available only at Saks Fifth Avenue and the four Bond No. 9
New York boutiques. It will also be available for purchase online at the Bond
and Saks websites. It is only available in one size, $230 for a 3.4 ounce bottle.
Mark David Boberick is a student studying Interior Design in Philadelphia. Mark David has been
aware of scent from a very young age and started collecting fragrances at age 12. A lover of art
and music, Mark David frequents museums, Theatre, and the Opera. He is also an accomplished
theatrical set designer having already amassed a large portfolio of work for only being 22 years old.
In 2006, Mark David established Atelier Mark David, his freelance design business based in
Philadelphia. Atelier keeps him busy with several side projects both Interior and Scenic which
he works on in his spare time. Mark David is happiest when he’s designing or sniffing. He
hopes to finish his schooling by earning his Masters Degree in Florence.
http://bondno9fragrances.blogharbor.com/blog
photographs courtesy of Bond. No 9 PR office
Union Square
Bond No. 9
New Release
Press release
"My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York," Andy Warhol once said. Perhaps in a similar spirit, Warhol began painting and silk-screening a series of highly stylized, phantasmagorically colored flowers during the 1960s. He returned to this age-old painter's subject in 1970, when he developed a portfolio of vibrantly colored flower screenprints at the first of his two studios on Union Square. Both the florals and the location were the inspiration for Andy Warhol Union Square, the latest in Bond No. 9's series of collectible Warhol eaux de parfum, arriving on counter in March, 2008.
The scent, a seductive green floral that's simultaneously cool and warm, is housed in the slim Bond No. 9 superstar flacon, this time displaying Warhol's flowers as its surface design.
Other worldly flowers such as these are of course a major fashion statement for spring 2008-with multitudes of designers taking their cue from the Warhol Flowers series. Likewise, Bond No. 9's Andy Warhol Union Square is in tune with the times (as perfumes should be). But let us go one further and propose that this latest scent of ours, enveloped in Warhol's iconic flower motif, raises the art of perfumery to-dare we say it?-a new level of sophistication.
The Fragrance
While most floral fragrances just hint at cool, and vice versa, this one is an ambi-sexual, daringly balanced mix of sweet and cool. Sometimes the gentle scent of lily of the valley seems about to prevail, looped together with blue freesia, golden amber, and animal musk to enhance its sensuality. At other times, crunchy green-stem notes and white birch wood are poised to turn this scent into one of pure, clean energy. But then the sweetness and the coolness merge, and stay merged.
The Bottle/Warhol's Flowers on Display
Its surface design places Warhol's
artistry in a new medium: the surface
of the sculpted glass perfume flacon.
We present fuchsia, red and yellow
colored flowers with blue colored
blades of grass. Like nothing found
in nature, these flowers remain on
the two-dimensional plane. They are
like psychedelic paper cut-outs
superimposed above the blades of
grass, which have an outsized life of
their own. Yet the two coalesce in the
overall composition, just as the scent's
floral and green notes merge in their
own artistic composition.
Like New York and all the U.S, Bond
No. 9 is going green. And we need
your help to get it done. Just bring
your empty perfume bottles-ours or
anyone else's-to Bond No. 9
boutiques and Bond No. 9 perfume
counters at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide. We'll take care of the rest. And by way of an eco-friendly thank-you, we'll give you a refillable pocket spray. Free with any purchase.
Available in 100 ml and 50ml flacons, Andy Warhol Union Square will be available at Bond No. 9's four New York boutiques, www.bondno9.com, 877.273.3369, and at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide.
Launch Date: March 15, 2008 Suggested Retail Price: $195 for 100ml; $135 for 50ml
For the serious collector who desires complete Warhol series (Is there any other way to collect?): We present a Portfolio of ten different bottles. They are meant to be viewed as one, as Warhol intended for his Flowers. Launch date: March 2008. Suggested retail price: $1500 for ten 100ml bottles.
In the Mother's Day nick of time, a new level of luxe. A bottle of Union Square wrapped with a limited-edition Robert Lee Morris Warhol-inspired Flowers necklace in sterling silver. Launch date: April 2008. Suggested retail price: $575 for a 100ml bottle and a 36" Robert Lee Morris necklace.
Warhol's Union Square
The second of our Warhol collectibles is named for
the environs of the two Union Square studios that
the artist and his crew successively occupied during
1968-1984-his years of notoriety. It was at these
downtown locations Warhol created the Mao paintings,
the commissioned portraits of the rich and famous,
and his portfolio of 10 Flowers screenprints.
Marking the junction of Broadway and Park Avenue
South between 14th and 17th Streets, Union Square
and the park within it have a storied history as a
choice location for outdoor public gatherings-notably
labor union rallies from the early years of the 20th
century. These days, Union Square is thriving,
with a busy Greenmarket selling fresh flowers.
However, the area was in a state of deterioration
when Warhol established his base at 33 Union
Square West, on the corner of East 16th Street,
in 1968. He stayed put, despite an attempt on his
life on the street outside his studio later that year,
though in 1974 he relocated across the park to
860 Broadway, on the corner of 18th Street.
There, the Warhol Factory in Union Square would
remain until 1984. During the age of Warhol,
Union Square witnessed both the collisions and the
coming together of uptown and downtown. After all,
it was Warhol who drew the likes of Yves Saint Laurent,
Brigitte Bardot, Mick Jagger, Halston, Truman Capote,
and Diane von Furstenberg to his studio.
Warhol and Perfume
"Another way to take up more space is with perfume. I really love wearing perfume," Warhol remarked. What's more, "for an iconic time, perfume is a way to see and be seen," adds Bond No. 9's president, Laurice Rahme. "We were attracted to Bond No 9's creative approach to luxury perfumery which celebrates New York City," said Michael Hermann, director of licensing at The Andy Warhol Foundation. "Working with Bond No. 9 represents a unique, unexpected, and exciting opportunity to introduce Warhol to an ever-widening audience." The connecting point between the Warhol Foundation and Bond No. 9 is New York. If Andy Warhol was a mirror of his time, he also reflected the vitality and creativity of his adopted city-exactly what Bond No. 9 is about. With the Warhol collaboration, Bond No. 9 takes it as its mission to enhance the artist's dynamic by connecting his vision not just with a line of fragrances, but with another kind of artistry-that of the sense of smell, and to interpret for today the scents of the studios, the clubs, the streets of New York that Warhol frequented and made famous.
About The Andy Warhol Foundation.
As the preeminent American artist of the 20th Century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation established in 1987 which promotes the visual arts. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation's objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work. The Foundation has given out over 1,700 cash grants totaling more than $70 million. For more information, visit www.warholfoundation.org.
About Bond No. 9
In business for four years, Bond No. 9 is an edgy downtown perfumery, committed to designing artisanal scented evocations of the neighborhoods and streets of New York-from Riverside Drive to Chinatown to Coney Island. An impassioned client base advises us on which parts of town they'd like us to do next. Our Warhol series of collectibles, beginning with Andy Warhol's Silver Factory (introduced last year) will celebrate the New York locales this late 20th century artist made his own.
Available in 100 ml and 50ml flacons, Andy Warhol Union Square will be available at Bond No. 9's four New York boutiques, www.bondno9.com, (877) 273.3369, and at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide.
Launch Date: March 15, 2008, Suggested Retail Price: $195 for 100ml; $135 for 50ml
New Bond No 9
Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue
See a shoe and Pick it up
and all day long you’ll have Good Luck.
So said Andy Warhol half a century ago, when he first got noticed …
as a shoe illustrator ensconced on Lexington Avenue.
Now for the artist’s 80th birthday, Bond No. 9 returns to Warhol’s origins
and celebrates the mutual sensuality of shoes and eau de parfum.
Just in time for the 80th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s birthday
(August 6, 1928), Bond No. 9 proudly introduces the third in its series of
Warhol eaux de parfum. Its name, Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue, recalls
the artist’s formative pre-Pop years in 1950s New York, when he lived in the
first of several apartments on Lexington Avenue and plied his trade as a
prolific illustrator—mainly of imaginative shoes. Hence the Warhol-designed
mélange of exclamation-point heels and high-button boots that covers the
flacon.
Lush and unapologetically seductive, Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue
dares (perhaps for the first time in perfumery) to link two of the most
ultra-feminine commodities a woman can own: fragrance and footwear.
The Warhol shoe connection...
Back in 1955, in collaboration with Ralph Pomeroy, who wrote
the shoe poems, and his mother, Julia Warhola, who did the lettering,
Warhol published a little book, A La Recherché du Shoe Perdu, filled
with his phantasmagorical illustrations of … shoes, accompanied by
riffs such as Beauty is shoe, shoe beauty…
(see: Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn).
Thus did he elevate the status of shoes to poetry.
But why this fascination with footwear?
As a young artist, camped out furniture-less at 242 Lexington Avenue, above a bar called Florence’s Pin-Up, Warhol needed to make a living. Along came I. Miller, the legendary shoe establishment holding court at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, which chose Warhol to update its image with illustrations for ads that would appear on a regular basis in the New York Times and the Herald Tribune. He complied with what one of his ads called “the Daringest new way to sell shoes”: whimsical displays of the Mod new pointy-toe, spike-heel pumps; he even devised gold-leaf Crazy Golden Slippers for a range of celebrities that included Zsa Zsa Gabor and James Dean. So seriously did Warhol take his shoe illustrations that in 1956 he submitted one of them as a gift to the Museum of Modern Art. (It was rejected.) The I. Miller illustrations hinted at Warhol’s future. A decade before Pop Art emerged, he was already advancing consumer goods as a worthy subject—perhaps the new subject—of art. What’s more, in these shoe ads he began using repetition to emphasize the product’s allure.
The fragrance
Now, fast-forward to 2008 as Bond No. 9 began developing its third Warhol fragrance (following Silver Factory and Union Square). With fanciful shoes the most directional fashion story in recent years, we found our theme when we discovered the rich lode of phantasmagorical shoes Warhol created on paper fifty years ahead of their time. And we relished the idea of sharing Warhol’s early career with our fragrance-sniffing clientele.
The eau de parfum we concocted is a floral woody chypre (chypre meaning fresh citrus topnotes and a lingering forest-like base) with highly coveted contemporary gourmand notes—a brew of peony, orris, patchouli, sandalwood, cardamom, fennel, almonds, cumin, and even crème brulee. A seductive and intoxicating autumn-winter fragrance, Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue is the perfume equivalent of that rarity, an outrageously luxurious pair of stiletto heels that fit as comfortably as a glove. Wearing the scent, like wearing the shoes, will turn a woman’s walk into a sinuous glide.
“Prophetically, Andy Warhol’s first job upon his arrival to New York City was to illustrate a magazine article entitled ‘Success is a Job in New York,’” said Michael Hermann, Director of Licensing at The Andy Warhol Foundation. “Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue celebrates the fashionable, sophisticated, and successful women of New York City through the whimsical lens of Andy Warhol and his artwork.”
The flacon
Depicted on the Bond No. 9 superstar bottle is a Warholian fantasy collage of shoes and boots, as commissioned by I. Miller, in rich, saturated colors. The overall effect is witty and sophisticated—as assured as the high-stepping optimism of the mid-century America of Warhol’s shoe-illustrating years.
Warhol and Perfume
“Another way to take up more space is with perfume. I really love wearing perfume,” Warhol remarked. What’s more, “for an iconic time, perfume is a way to see and be seen,” adds Bond No. 9’s president, Laurice Rahmé. “We were attracted to Bond No. 9’s creative approach to luxury perfumery which celebrates New York City,” said Michael Hermann, director of licensing at The Andy Warhol Foundation. “Working with Bond No. 9 represents a unique, unexpected, and exciting opportunity to introduce Warhol to an ever-widening audience.” The connecting point between The Warhol Foundation and Bond No. 9 is New York. If Andy Warhol was a mirror of his time, he also reflected the vitality and creativity of his adopted city—exactly what Bond No. 9 is about. With the Warhol collaboration, Bond No. 9 takes it as its mission to enhance the artist’s dynamic by connecting his vision not just with a line of fragrances, but with another kind of artistry—that of the sense of smell, and to interpret for today the scents of the studios, the clubs, the streets of New York that Warhol frequented and made famous.
About The Andy Warhol Foundation
As the preeminent American artist of the 20th Century, Andy Warhol challenged the world to see art differently. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation established in 1987 which promotes the visual arts. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation's objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work. The Foundation has given out over 1,700 cash grants totaling more than $70 million. For more information, visit, www.warholfoundation.org.
About Bond No. 9
In business for four years, Bond No. 9 is an edgy downtown perfumery, committed to designing artisanal scented evocations of the neighborhoods and streets of New York—from Riverside Drive to Chinatown to Coney Island. An impassioned client base advises us on which parts of town they’d like us to do next. Our Warhol series of collectibles, beginning with Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory (introduced last year) will celebrate the New York locales this late 20th century artist made his own.
Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue is available in two sizes: 100ml and 50ml, at Bond No. 9’s four New York City boutiques, www.bondno9.com, 877.273.3369, and at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide. Launch date: September 2008. Suggested Retail Price: $195 for 100ml; $135 for 50ml
For the holiday season, Limited-edition flacons will feature Robert Lee Morris sterling silver shoe pendants of Warhol’s shoe designs—four of them—on a sterling silver chain. Launch date: September 2008. Suggested retail price: $575.
NEXT ISSUE. Review of Bond No. 9 Lexington Avenue
New Review
Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue
By Kathy Patterson
The latest in the Andy Warhol line of scents by Bond No. 9, Lexington Avenue is billed as a “floral woody chypre,” with notes of peony, orris, patchouli, sandalwood, cardamom, fennel, almonds, cumin, and crème brulée. It’s a “seductive and intoxicating autumn-winter fragrance” and “the perfume equivalent of that rarity, an outrageously luxurious pair of stiletto heels that fit as comfortably as a glove. Wearing the sent, like wearing the shoes, will turn a woman’s walk into a sinuous glide.”
Personally, I think wearing stiletto heels would make my walk more like a stumble and fall, but that’s me. I’m a flats kinda girl. Not that I don’t appreciate the look of a gorgeous sky-high heel, I just have no use for them in my life. And I kinda feel that way about chypres. There’s just something about them that I don’t care for, a sort of dirty hair quality that turns me off. So when I looked at the press materials for Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue, I was pretty sure I would hate it.
Then I tried it on.
The opening is rich and fruity with a lovely sweet spice from the cardamom and a soft creaminess from the almonds. Yes, I did say “fruity.” I am surprised there are no listed notes of peach/plum because I smell a rich ripeness, more fresh than jammy, but definitely fruit. It mingles with the spices to produce a fragrance reminiscent of a cobbler. And then there’s a sneaky note of cumin that pops up – faint, but noticeable – and a bit of aromatic fennel. Soft woodsy notes start to come out a bit when it dries down, but nothing much to overcome the delicious gourmand quality that is only enhanced by a big hit of custard. Like a sexy drizzle of crème Anglaise.
I think to myself, “this is no chypre. I love it!”
Wearing this scent on my forearm, all I smell is a trip to the pie shop. But then I spritzed Lexington Avenue on my décolletage, where I usually wear scent. Suddenly that familiar warm funky earthiness jumped out at me – it was a chypre! If I tilted my head downward toward the smell, I got the sweet, spicy fruit. When I picked my head back up, I got the chypre effect. Despite that, I still love Lexington Avenue. It’s a chypre for those folks who might be a little scared of the classics like Mitsouko, and who enjoy a rich gourmand fragrance.
And the bottle design is terrific!
