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Olivia Houghton Fragrance Analysis FASH10106
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i u S a n n An exotic narrative from the Bohemian Queen
Anna Sui has always
been one to represent history and culture through her garments, however it is now noticed that this has also been conveyed in her fragrance adverts. The fragrance La Nuit De Boheme by Anna Sui was launched in 2014 as an extension of the original 2012 fragrance La Vie De Boheme. La Vie De Boheme translates to ‘Bohemian life’, meaning a lifestyle with little care and worry. The fragrance La Nuit De Boheme uses a similar phrase however refers to ‘the night’ instead. The campaign attempts to create an exotic atmosphere through the charm and mystery of royalty. There are similar characteristics and features that Sui uses to make her adverts identifiable; the theme of fantasy and myths are dominant in many of her fragrance adverts. Roland Barthes created a theory, which allowed fashion photography to be classified into three categories: Literal, Romanticized and Mockery. Barthes would suggest that the majority of Sui’s adverts would be seen as ‘romanticized’, where a story is used to reference real life (Barthes.R, 1992). In 2005, Sui launched ‘Secret Wish’, a fragrance where fairies and butterflies were used within the advert to perceive a fairy tale atmosphere. Similarly in La Nuit De Boheme there is a
figure 1. Anna Sui Fragrance (2014)
narrative which suggests fantasy, through the use of jewels, golden tones and a crown. Anna Sui is a high end, luxurious fashion brand which merges the boundaries between contemporary and vintage. Sui uses these same values within the fragrance segment of her brand to connect with her target consumer (Posner. H, 2011.) La Nuit De Boheme campaign includes the model dressed in one of Sui’s antique garments, connecting both her clothing brand and fragrance brand. From first glance we can see that Sui has possibly been inspired by a country such as Morocco, also known as the Kingdom of Morocco. Instantly a ‘kingdom’ is associated with royalty and wealth, and this is what is being represented in this advert. The Moroccan atmosphere is illustrated in the styling, location and props. Gracie Van Gastel, a red headed fashion model
figure 2. Anna Sui Fragrance (2014)
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figure 3, The Princess and King Mohammed VI on their wedding day (2014)
who has little bold facial features was chosen to portray the character of a Moroccan princess. It’s possible that the inspiration behind this came from one of the current princesses of Morocco, Princess Lalla Salma (figure 3), who similarly has long curled red hair. On the other hand, Pre Raphaelite painter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and more specifically his painting of Aurelia (figure 4) may have inspired the make up and hair styling in La Nuit De Boheme. Despite the dress being an antique,there are signs of modernism. In Morocco you are expected to dress respectfully. However as the country develops, citizens are becoming more tolerant and less disturbed by woman revealing more skin (Rough Guides, 2015). Sui has styled Gracie Van Gastel in a more revealing dress with fine straps and a lower neck line, combining modernism with tradition. When researching other Moroccan inspired artists there were two painters which stood out in relation to La Nuit De Boheme. Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha paintings both used golden and yellow tones, which is a similar feature in Sui’s fragrance advert where it has a colour palette of gold, yellow and red. This, along with the heavy use of jewels depicts a luxurious and rich feel to the advert, reflecting the
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“women were objectif ied in f ilms and photography because they were often shot by males” figure 4, Aurelia (1863)
brand’s market level. It appears both painters portrayed the women in their paintings as important people, possibly princesses. The woman in Klimt’s painting, Adele Bloch- Bauer (figure 5) has been painted abstractly to possibly reflect Klimt’s feelings towards her, for example she may of been special to him. In contrast to this, In Mucha’s painting, The Seasons: Spring (figure 6), the woman is pictured very elegantly, especially through the styling of her hair and the view on her upper chest. When looking at the location Sui chose to use, it’s obvious that this is too inspired by the Moroccan culture. There is some resemblance to the 2000 film Arabian Nights that was set in Erfoud, Morocco and in Turkey, where they have a similar culture. In these locations you will find large palaces which would potentially be the setting for this photo shoot. Through the
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figure 5, Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907)
List of images Front cover image, Anna Sui (2014) Fashion designer Anna Sui is one of the guest curators of the Contemporary Curated sale at Sotheby’s, [Advertisement] At: http:// www.sothebys.com/en/news-video/blogs/all-blogs/contemporary/2014/02/anna-suis-top-4contemporary-picks.html Last accessed: 09.05.2015 Figure 1, Anna Sui Fragrance (2014) La Nuit De Boheme [Advetisement] At: http://newberry.ru/beauty/perfumery/anna-sui-la-nuit-de-boheme.html Last accessed: 08.05.2015 Figure 2, Anna Sui Fragrance (2014) La Nuit De Boheme [Advertisement] At: http://www. superdrug.com/medias/custom-content/microsites/2014/event08/Anna%20Sui/lanuitdeboheme. jpg Last accessed: 08.05.2015 Figure 3, The Princess and King Mohammed on their wedding day (2014) [Poster] At: http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2014051018676/princess-lalla-salma-birthday-facts/ Last accessed: 08.05.2015 Figure 4, Rosetti. Dante Gabriel (1863) Aurelia [Poster] At: http://allart.biz/photos/ image/Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_30_Aurelia.html Last accessed: 08.05.2015 figure 6, The Seasons: Spring (1900)
positioning of the model on the bed, there are connotations that suggest seductivity. In this campaign, the model is placed on her left side directly facing the camera. The positioning of the model reflects Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory where she suggested that woman were objectified in films and photography because they were often shot my males. The angle of the camera and the positioning of the model allows the shot to emphasise the woman’s curves, which has been criticised by feminists for promoting inequality (Mulvey.L, 1992.) When looking at the physical features in La Nuit De Boheme, such as the bottle and the text, the bottle is featured larger than life size, perhaps to emphasise on the details that are inspired by the Art Nouveau movement. The (Anna Sui, 2015). The body of the bottle is a bouquet of roses, which are a popular aspect of the Art Nouveau movement. The lid of the bottle represents Anna Sui’s brand by using her signature butterfly. Overall I feel the creative execution of this fragrance works for the brand and is appealing to female target consumer. The advert has been constructed attentively to create a narrative that the consumer can buy into.
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Figure 5, Klimt. Gustav (1907) Adele Bloch-Bauer [Poster] At: http://www.klimt.com/en/ gallery/women/klimt-bildnis-adele-bloch-bauer1-1907.ihtml Last accessed: 08.05.2015 Figure 6, Mucha. Alphonse (1900) The Seasons: Spring [Poster] At: http://www. muchafoundation.org/gallery/browse-works/object/99 Last accessed: 08.05.2015
List of references (Barthes.R, 1992, The Fashion System,
New Ed Edition, University of Caliofornia Press)
(Posner. H, 2011, Marketing Fashion, 2013 reprint, Laurence King Publishing Ltd, Brand onion.) (Mulvey.L, 1992, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, In: Media and Cultural Studies, Revised Edition, Blackwell Publishing, 2001, pages 22-34) (Ellingham. M & Dunford.M, Rough Guides [Online] Available from: http://www.roughguides. com/destinations/africa/morocco/culture-etiquette/ Last accessed: 09.05.2015 (Sui.A. La Nuit De Boheme [Online] Available from: www.annasui.com/en/#/lndb. Last accessed 08/08/2015) Biboliography www.annasui.com www.fragrantica.com www.pinterest.com www.instyle.com Dazed Confused magazine- Spring 2015