There’s isn’t much need for words when introducing Alessandro Michele—his name already speaks volumes. The Creative Director of Gucci since 2015, his name has always been praised for the successful “rebirth” of Gucci and bringing a pivotal element to the global fashion scene.
Michele has an impressive eye, not only in fashion but with basically everything he puts his vision into. His influence on all of Gucci’s recent launches has been apparent, and to have that “touch of Alessandro Michele” actually became the charm of every piece. And with the recent launch of Gucci’s new fine fragrances, there is undeniable vibe to it that is uniquely Michele’s—one that fuses the glorious past with the design of the future.
Fragrance of alchemy, nature and nostalgia
The latest Gucci fragrance collection will hit you with such a sense of nostalgia—its looks give the feel of Italian apothecary straight away, with reverence to vintage perfumes. Such inspiration has been well-incorporated into the gender-free concept of the fragrance collection, one that has been created with the help of an expert perfumer, Alberto Morillas. It isn’t the first time the man has collaborated with Michele and Gucci too, as he was the one behind Gucci Bloom, the first ever fragrance of Michelle for the fashion house.
Aptly named as “The Alchemist Garden”, the collection features tall glass vessels lacquered with ivory and designed with pink roses dotted all over the bottles. The calm and ethereal feel of the packaging is a great prelude to what’s inside it, the delicate scents that are nature-inspired.
The Alchemist Garden
The collection has a total of 15 pieces—eaux de parfum, perfumed oils, and a huge scented candle. Their fragrances are very much influenced personally by Michelle, just like The Last Day of Summer, which incorporates his memory of his walks with his dad. The fragrances on the collection, like The Eyes of the Tiger gives off a rich amber scent, while the rest have mimosa, rose, oud, violet, and iris as base scents.
- The Alchemist’s Garden Rose eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Oud eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Amber eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Violet eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Mimosa eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Woods eau de parfum ($330)
- The Alchemist’s Garden Iris eau de parfum ($330)
As Michele wanted the fragrances to be layered with other scents to make them more personal to their respective owners, the collection was added with perfume waters that can be used for that purpose. The three “acque profumate” or perfume waters are called Fading Autumn, Moonlight Serenade, and A Winter Melody, with base notes of woods, lavender, and cypress, respectively.
- Fading Autumn ($240)
- Moonlight Serenade ($240)
- A Winter Melody ($240)
The apothecary vibe is much more visible with the fragrance oils of the collection. Their packaging of ceramic bottles with gold embellishments totally reflects that. These oils are based on single-notes like the perfume waters, especially as they are used to intensify the fragrances in the perfumes.
- Ode on Melancholy ($410)
- A Kiss from Violet ($410)
- A Nocturnal Whisper ($410)
- A Forgotten Rose ($410)
Lastly, the candle. Just the look of this item would make you want to just store it as decoration, with its ceramic pot that is beautified with ACTUAL gold. But once you get a whiff of its scent—you might not want to light any other candle. Its violet scent has the most luxurious quality that you won’t experience in any other candle, making it have that true Gucci mark: extremely and luxuriously unique.
Image credits: Gucci, Nikki Krecicki/Vogue and 10 Magazine.
