Scented Leather Goods, Made the 17th-Century Way

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The cult French perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who co-founded his eponymous fragrance house in Paris in 2009, introduces his first line of leather goods today — and, unsurprisingly, they smell quite nice. “Scented leather was very obvious to me since it is a direct link to the origins of perfumery,” says Kurkdjian in a reference to the 17th century, when gloves were perfumed to mask the odors left behind from the tanning process. Back then, a mixture of fragrant spices, blooms and natural oils were rubbed into the leather repeatedly to ensure staying power. But for his debut collection of scented cardholders, Kurkdjian developed a long lasting, pure-oil-based formula.

It’s not the first time Kurkdjian has sought to perfume a client’s person with more than a spritz. In 2009, he created the Tour Atour, a unisex leather-thread bracelet doused in essential oils. He has also dabbled in bubbles and incense paper, both staples in his collection, and was commissioned in 2011 by the French artist Sophie Calle to recreate the smell of money for a project. (The scent was later presented at the Cartier Art Foundation as a work of art.) For his new cardholders, Kurkdjian teamed up with Brigitte Montaut, the director of the Parisian saddle maker Atelier Renard. The two initially met in 2009, when Kurkdjian hired Montaut to construct a custom work bag for him. A year after it was finished, they collaborated again to work with exotic hide samples — and improve the formula-soaking process. “A perfume to put on the skin or use in a wax candle does not require the same specifications,” explains Kurkdjian. “For leather, it’s about creating a fragrance that lasts as long as possible.”

The cardholders — crafted from cowhide and crocodile — were dipped in some of Kurkdjian’s favorite stock: a mix of amber, musks and sandalwood for the smooth hide, and a vanilla-amber base laced with patchouli and benzoin for the shiny crocodile. The line will eventually expand to include travel bags and smartphone cases, handbags and full wallets.

SOURCE:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/t-magazine/scented-leather-goods-made-the-17th-century-way.html