This designer never ceases to amaze. In addition to fashion collections of clothes, shoes, accessories and women's signature perfumes, he created a new men's fragrance, called "BANG". In these spirits, it seems, the character of Mark himself is revealed, who has become a little perfumer, of course, the designer of the bottle and packaging, and, finally, a model for advertising his creation. How was all this created and combined? We learn first hand.
Mark, all your projects start with a name. What was the idea behind the creation of the Bang fragrance?
The name usually sets the tone for me when creating packaging and the scent of new perfumes. All my friends with whom I shared the idea said: "Great!". Among my friends, and this is a small creative community, the positive reaction was immediate, as was the case with "Daisy" and "Lola". By the way, at first I thought to name the new perfume BANG by Marc Jacobs, and then changed my mind.
Who is your Bang perfume for? Who is this man?
I think that when I started thinking about these new perfumes, I was passionate about the idea of creating something that I would like. Something that I myself would wear with pleasure and would like to do it. This turned out to be a very difficult task. After all, when I create perfumes for women, I can imagine the image of a girl, come up with thoughts and feelings for her, or just remember those girls who are present in my life.
But in the case of men's perfumes, there was a certain personal interest. Therefore, starting with the name, continuing with the bottle, packaging, or the fragrance itself, I had to work on making it pleasant for me to translate this idea into reality. It turns out that I addressed "Bang", first of all, to myself.
Bang has a very sophisticated top note. Why do you love pepper in perfume so much?
I love different smells. I have one strange trait - before I find the smell that I like, I try to find those that annoy me or dislike me. But if in general, then I really like the aromas of musk and spices ... For example, I like the smell of pepper, for me it is very natural and organic. In perfumes, I like the slightly muffled pepper shades. Even the name of this spice does not sound exotic. In our life, this is a familiar ingredient - white and black, salt and pepper. I don’t know, I like it. There is something ... hit.
Your feminine perfumes “Daisy” and “Lola” are, nevertheless, a relationship to a greater extent, and what does your “Bang” say about mood?
Everyone I know has a youthful spirit and a modern way of thinking. Plus, all my friends, one way or another, are associated with creativity. Therefore, working on this fragrance, the only thing I could do was translate my attitude into the language of spirit and style in clothes, make a new discovery and try to maintain the novelty and freshness of the moment. This is probably still a mood.
So you are lucky that perfumer Jan Vasnir managed to express your thoughts with images in this fragrance?
Oh yeah! Here is a personal secret, but he really caught what I like. We worked in tandem, and it is always great if there is someone nearby who can create something on an equal footing with you. It creates a feeling of something real, genuine.
What did you want to convey to the consumer by choosing such a strange kind of bottle?
"Bang" is a hit, so I hit ... In my opinion, the bottle of perfume that you like should be attractive. This is a certain object that you are happy to hold in your hands, and then buy it. I think that shopping is a process, a bottle is also part of the process, flavor is part of the process, advertising is part of the process .... All together is part of a ritual that people like. Therefore, it seems to me better to rejoice and celebrate this ritual together than to turn it upside down. And men always like beautiful stories, especially classic ones, even if only in form. In my opinion, the "steel" bottle, slightly wrinkled upon impact, looks very appropriate. This is an illusion and a reflection of the artist’s vision. I like it. A work of art with a touch of irony, and you always liked elegance ...
Yes exactly. And again, I think it works great. I love silver, light falling from different sides of the bottle, and so on.
An advertising campaign was shot at the Mercer Hotel?
Yes, the shooting took place in my old room at the Mercer Hotel. For me it was very important.
This is the first time you have become the face of an advertising campaign for your perfume that was shot by Jürgen Teller. How did you decide on this?
Robert Duffy told me: "You know, Mark, you look great, you would have to star in a commercial for male perfumes." I thought for a bit and realized that shooting at Jürgen did not bother me, I had already worked with him more than once. In addition, now I look much better than before. In any case, I think so.
Yes, Mark, I must say that you look cool ...
I liked it myself. At first we shot in clothes, but something in that was not right. Did not work. Then I took off my clothes. I do not see any problems in this. It seems to me that in the advertising of women's perfumes, colors and fabrics, clothing style and transmitted mood are very important. As in the situation with the perfumes of “Lola”, the purple ribbon worked for the image, and in “Daisy” - the girl in the bikini was able to convey the desired mood. Well, and what do you think yourself, can you convey the idea of "Blow" by dressing in a business suit and shirt? Of course not. We tried, it didn’t work. And you do not try. "Bang" means "Bang."
