In the latest think tank of the Spanish Perfume Academy, held before summer, one of the major conclusions of this think tank was that fragrances are a key tool to influence our mood. It is the reason the industry is integrating advances in neuroscience to design aromas that generate specific emotional responses, something made possible by the connection between olfaction and the limbic system, responsible for processing emotions and memories.
Fragrances influence well-being, in reducing anxiety or in social interaction, and although from our personal experience not much scientific explanation is necessary to know whether a perfume pleases us or provokes rejection as soon as we smell it, research does take into account all those variables and reactions when formulating the final formula of a fragrance before presenting it to the market.
In the case at hand, the result had to be even more precise and definite, as it is the first perfume Max Mara presents in its 75-year history. Since its founding in 1951, the Italian house has advocated a fashion of timeless style and elegance, of maximum quality, design and comfort, so this first aroma, Max Mara. Le Parfum, could not betray those values that have been passed down from generation to generation, so as soon as you smell it it evokes calm, well-being and a contemporary classicism that wraps softly. “It was a responsibility,” acknowledges Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, spokesperson, board member of the Max Mara Group and granddaughter of the founder.
Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, spokesperson, board member of the Max Mara Group
“We have taken almost four decades to present our first perfume, so imagine all the care we have put into it. There has been deep work of analysis and reflection; and a lot of research into the ingredients, the aroma, the bottle, even the color of the liquid… The smallest detail has been studied,” adds this graduate in Business Administration from Bocconi University.
To achieve this, Max Mara has not stood alone. It has partnered with the Japanese group Shiseido, which has developed the entire concept based on the values of durability, quality and meticulous craftsmanship with which the founder, Achille Maramotti, imprinted the brand. “Shiseido also has a culture centered on essence, on the purity of the essential,” finishes Maria Giulia.
A Matter of Values
Alberto Noé, president and chief executive of Shiseido Europe, the Middle East and Africa, shares that view: “It is a natural collaboration because we are two companies that share the same philosophy. Serenity, balance, research, well-being, durability… So it is an honor to work with people who understand life in the same way.”
Alberto Noé, President and Chief Executive of Shiseido Europe, Middle East and Africa
The meticulousness with which both parties have prepared this first fragrance leaves no room for improvisation in any aspect. The liquid is subtle and long-lasting, elegant and of a soft golden color, like the camel wool of the iconic Max Mara coats, those models 101801, Teddy, Ludmila or Manuela that are timeless references of comfort and good taste. Or the Ready, in a light camel hair double-faced wool without lining, which the firm has presented on the occasion of its anniversary and which the British actress Florence Pugh wears in the campaign images.
Also the bottle, the silhouette of a coat with the belt tied and the mathematically milled stitches that sew into the garments by the seamstresses of the San Maurizio workshop, in Reggio Emilia (which I had the opportunity to verify on another occasion a few years ago); and even the packaging, with an interior printed with the M of the coat linings. “The perfume is like an invisible hug, like a second skin; and that is why in the case of Max Mara, whose coats are an embrace of comfort and warmth, we wanted the perfume to embrace from every angle,” explains Alberto Noé.
Le Parfum, Max Mara’s new fragrance
I ask Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti, in one of these interviews held in Rome during the international unveiling, how she thinks her grandfather would react to the result. He would be satisfied: “The concept of the brand arose because he wanted to offer maximum quality and a very concrete way of making the garments. So this level of solidity and precision in the research and in the whole process, and that everything has been based on his vision, on concepts firmly rooted in the company, explain and honor his history.”
During that process, another important aspect was the choice of a figure to personify the values they wanted to convey; and the chosen one was Florence Pugh, a young actress but with a solid track record, a natural, spontaneous and brave performer, as evidenced during our conversation at the Six Senses hotel in Rome; a woman who has just turned 30 and who tells us: “My femininity changes constantly. Now I am delving into new facets of my personality. In my 20s I thought my femininity resided in being bold, in being sure, in being expressive, strong, frank; and in making myself noticed and occupying my space. In a way I still think so, but the wonderful thing about femininity is to discover and embrace other facets with which I feel comfortable.”
A Star Is Born
Twice nominated for the BAFTAs, once for the Oscars and a muse for generations of young people for films such as Little Women, Dune, Oppenheimer, Black Widow or Thunderbolts, Pugh insists she does not feel like an icon: “It would be presumptuous, but if my decisions or my voice help other women to see themselves as stronger, freer and more secure, that makes me feel very honored.”
She discovered Max Mara years ago through magazine campaigns; its coats make her feel “a comfortable invisible armor,” she wants to keep changing her aesthetics and evolving in everything “without answering to anyone,” facing the expectations others have of her: “I have spent my entire career fighting against what was expected of me as a young blonde actress who started at 17; and especially in the beauty industry, but I have never changed my body to fit in,” she says, joyfully recalling the sea and jasmine scent from her childhood years in Sotogrande.
Yes, scents are powerful carriers of memories and emotions. Fabrice Pellegrin and Marie Salamagne know this well, noses who created Max Mara’s Le Parfum and who proudly state: “We wanted it to have the elegance and fluidity of the house’s coats. Translating its timeless style into a balance of masculine and feminine notes: cedar, sandalwood, tuberose, spikenard… And creating a sensual and inimitable texture, like a coat that adapts to the body.”
