In an exclusive collaboration, Noah has partnered with Folie a Plusieurs in creating a fragrance inspired by the film "Enter the Void". We met with Folie's creative director Kaya to learn more about the meaning and inspiration behind the collection and his latest fragrance.
The act of combining film and fragrance is such a unique art form. How does this process begin with each film?
KS: As an Art House perfumery, Folie A Plusieurs works very differently from other niche perfume brands and mass fragrance companies. These companies tend to to treat the perfumer more like a graphic designer rather than an artist. The relationship I have with Mark Buxton is artist to artist. He trusts me in terms of the film selections and the creative positioning of the brand and I trust him with the creative development of the fragrance. We do not edit each others work. After I or Rita (my Berlin film curator) selects the film, we ask Mark to respond to whichever moments resonate with him and call for an olfactive response. The moments selected are entirely up to him, as the creation has to come from a very personal and honest place for the scent to be interesting, in my opinion. There is so much work and fine details that go into making a film, moments that may strike you and I may be completely different. So when a fragrance is inspired by a moment that we are not familiar with, it causes us to revisit that moment and search for new meaning.
Were there many moments in the film "Enter the Void" that you wanted to reference? Was it difficult to pick just one?
KS: The film itself is an odyssey of events. There are so many moments that have made a serious impression me. For example, when the main character revisits his childhood and parents death or the more darker sexual moments where his spirit travels throughout a love hotel and you brought into contact with different personalities in different rooms fulfilling different sexual fantasies or engaging different sexual interactions.
You've stated that the new fragrance has a sexual, sensual, psychological, addictive, and psychedelic feeling to it. In saying this, why did you choose "Enter the Void" to be the next film to work with?
KS: It's very Folie no? Folie A Plusieurs (french translated to the Madness of Many / Shared Psychosis) is a psychiatric condition discovered in france where two or more people share a delusional belief. Since this is the first Le Cinema Olfactif screening in the US I thought it was important to lead with a film that captures the spirt it of the brand. We aim to expand the language of perfumery and in doing so there are times where we will introduce perfumes that push individuals limits or creates discomfort... And Gaspar is a genius in this respect into expanding our tastes.
Is there a certain genre of film you gravitate towards?
KS: Hmm thats a good question. I tend to gravitate more towards Art House films.
How does this scent differ from the other fragrances in your collection?
KS: It is definitely the darkest and most erotic scent in our collection. I will leave the rest to your imagination.