Embrace - DKNY fragrance 2015

EM B R A C E DKNY Fragrance Launch Spring 2015

EM B R A CE DKNY Fragrance Launch Spring 2015

EMBRACE

A

rchitecture cannot be defined through a single medium. This lack of specificity is a problem for the discipline, but is also where its strength strangely lies. In many ways, the built environment, our cities and buildings are the most visible and real outcome of our actions as architects.

It is through the reality of construction that architecture directly impacts the physical world. But, as has been often noted before to the point of clichĂŠ, architecture is somehow more than just building. Or, more prosaic, and equally clichĂŠ, the facts of architectural labor stipulate that architects do not make buildings, they make representations that lead to buildings. These representations are thus often the battle ground upon which the discipline wages its internal war to define what is specific and singular regarding the architectural condition. There are passionate defenses made for the drawing as the locus of architectural thought, with subgroups that define the freedom of the hand, the rigor of geometry, or the abstraction of the line. There are equally legitimate arguments for the physical model as the medium for the exploration of space and material assembly. There are stances that the rendered image of the future building is where architecture most clearly speculates through a medium everyone can engage. There are other arguments that architecture must be centered on the diagrammatic resolution of programs, circulations, system performances, and urban infrastructure. These notations are aided, or demand a textual discourse that unveils the cultural project in which architecture situates its histories, theories, and ecologies. There is also the reality of economies that drive the development of architecture, both as constraints in construction and economic effects generated through exchange.

Michael Bywater EDITOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EMBRACE SCENT ESSENCES HISTORY EDITORIAL GLOBAL MARKETS SOCIAL IMPACT

Donna Karan Embrace Launch Spring 2015

E

very element is an object of desire, a dance between masculine and feminine: Pinstriped tailoring. Sculpted planes that newly define bustiers, dresses and skirts. A crisp white shirt or a taffeta turtleneck. Artisan coats from metallic blazers and brocade clutches to luxe skins – with an optional shearling collar. Evening goes one of two ways: sexy tuxedoes or sensual drapes of sheer, matte and devore.

Luxury should never be an either/or. It should be an “and”: Warmth and artistry. Function and fantasy. Chic and personality. It’s a look as powerful and individual as you.”

With love,

Donna Karan Embrace Launch Spring 2015

T

his is a bright, fresh and energetic fragrance, which matches a picture of a bold, but charming woman. The top features green notes, violet leaf, apple, grapefruit and magnolia. The heart brings tuberose, lily of the valley, rose and violet, while the base – sandalwood, amber and musk, like a sweet embrace.

HISTORY HERITAGE FROM FRANS HALSMUSEUM Words: Archaelogist Nathan Humert Photos: RIck Poon

Egyptian Perfume Box Engraving Egypt 2055–1650 BC

Since ancient times, perfume has been a distinctive element of the world’s culture.

The word perfume, used to describe a scented mixture, is derived from the Latin word, “per fumus,” meaning through smoke. Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began thousands of years ago and Egypt was the first world leader in their creation.

Archaeologists have discovered intricate perfume bottles within the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs and when Tutankhamen’s 3,300-yearold tomb was opened, there was still a trace of the strong fragrance detected. Legends say that ancient Egyptians also used perfume bottles to collect the tears of those who mourned the death of a loved one. Generally perfumes were Egyptian Perfume Bottle reserved for the aristocratic The oldest known perfumery class. was discovered on the island of Cyprus. In 2004, an The first hand-blown glass Italian archaeological team vessels appeared in Egypt unearthed an enormous in the 2nd millennium BCE. perfume factory that existed Though most perfume bottles 4,000 years ago. The factory had simple forms, some were was an estimated 43,000 very elaborate. Blown glass square feet, indicating that vessels were created by perfume manufacturing had sticking a piece of molten already reached an industrial glass onto one end of a scale. The first perfume maker blowpipe and introducing of record was an Egyptian pressurized air into the other woman chemist named end by blowing. Decorations Tapputi. In a Mesopotamian were added such as handles tablet from the second or strands of colored glass millennium BC, it was written which could be pinched to that she made perfume by change simple patterns into distilling flowers, oils and more intricate ones other aromatics to create an exceptional aroma.

Historians believe that Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfumes into their cultural rituals.

A Lot of 6 Roman Glass Perfume Bottles Rome, 27 BC – 476 AD

ancient Egyptian glass have been the study of scholars for centuries, many of these early materials and methods remain a mystery. However, some of the known natural materials comprising the ancient bottles are quartz, cobalt, plant ash, sand, rock salt and copper.

very elaborate. Blown glass vessels were created by sticking a piece of molten glass onto one end of a blowpipe and introducing pressurized air into the other end by blowing. Decorations were added such as handles or strands of colored glass which could be pinched to The first vessels were made change simple patterns into by a method which required more intricate ones. molding on a core. This method used a core made The creation of glass perfume in the shape of the desired bottles thrives in Egypt today. vessel from a material strong However, since the beginning enough to withstand extreme of the 19th century, a more heat.

Viscous glass was modern technique has been applied to this core and the used, developed when a surface of the vessel was then resurgence in glass as an decorated with threads of art form took place. Though colored glass in ornamental today’s techniques have patterns. The vessel was been handed down from rolled on a flat surface where generation to generation, a handle and base were the glass and other materials added. Glass artists of this used are now imported period often used materials globally. Buyers from around to create colors that imitated the world travel to Egypt for precious stones such as lapis these exquisite bottles, which lazuli and turquoise. chronicle a history thousands of years old.

The first hand-blown glass vessels appeared in Egypt in the 2nd millennium BCE. Though most perfume bottles had simple forms, some were

Counch Shell Perfume Holder, Removable Container with Gold Trimmings.

Netherlands, Reigh III (1641)

D

onna Karan founded DKNY in 1989 as a younger, more affordable fast fashion diffusion line to run alongside her existing Donna Karan New York label. The Donna Karan Beauty collection, which specializes in fragrances, was launched in 1992. Mist Cashmere and its seductive scrent is now considered an embodiement of the modern woman.

In her most recent project, Donna Karan was interested in her Dutch heritage after encountering Willem Claeszoon Hedas painting in the Museum des Beaux Arts in the Paris. She became fascinated by the counch shell perfume holder at the forefront of the piece, which was a prized possession of her royal ancestry. The iconic designer conceived of a more modern version of her perfume bottle.

They attempted to keep the essence of the historical object, both with its removable smaller perfume container and its unforgettable geometry.

The conch shell perfume bottle found in Willem Claeszoon Hedas painting has a powerful symbolic value which relates to the branch mission of DKNY. The conch shell was perceivd in Dutch royalty as the most ancient musical instrument known to man. Obtained as a gift from the great ocean, it was held as sacred, and reference is found all over ancient Indian literature. It is seen in the hands of almost all gods and goddesses, whenever they were happy or going off to war. What better object to inspire the modern woman, her strength and her scent. The modern design of the bottle, lauching in the Spring 2015, also embodies the qualities of an object found in the depth of the ocean.

Its scent at once echoes the royalty which inspired it and its oceanic descendance.

DKNY always seeks to move forward toward the future, but this new launch first looked at the past in order to create a scent and a bottle like no other.

Conch Shell Perfume Holder, Removable Container with Gold Trimmings.

Netherlands, Unknown Owner (1641)

Conch Shell Perfume Holder, Removable Container with Gold Trimmings.

Netherlands, Unknown Owner (1641)

Still Life with Pie, Silver Ewer and Crab Willem Claeszoon Heda (1658)

W

illem Claeszoon Heda (December 14, 1593/1594 – c.

1680/1682) was a Dutch Golden Age artist from the city of Haarlem devoted exclusively to the painting of still lifes. He is known for his innovation of the late breakfast genre of still life painting.

Willem was a contemporary and comrade of Dirck Hals, akin to him in pictorial touch and technical execution. But Heda was more careful and finished than Hals, showing considerable skill and taste in the arrangement and colouring of his chased cups, beakers and tankards of both precious and inferior metals.

Heda was also associated with the Haarlem artist and fellow still life painter, Floris van Dyck. In his work, Harlemias, the Dutch poet Theodorus Schrevelius acknowledged exceptional skill at his genre of painting. Heda and his contemporary and fellow still life painter, Floris van Dyck, were “held in high esteem by the community as the best at painting their genre.”[8] As a painter of “ontbijt” or breakfast pieces, he is often compared to his contemporary Pieter Claesz. One of Heda’s early masterpieces, dated 1623 and in Alte Pinakothek, Munich, is as homely as a later one of 1651 in the Liechtenstein Gallery at Vienna. A more luxurious repast is a “Luncheon” in the Augsburg Gallery, dated 1644.

H

istory would have it that perfume, whose very name comes from the Latin pro fumum, “through smoke”, was originally reserved for the gods. It doesn’t hold water. What the gods wanted was the rank bloodsmoke of sacrificial victims, and if a more fragrant offering were burnt before them, it was to disguise the smell from us, not to please them.

Magic will happen. The magic which the poet George Herbert spoke of when he wrote of his pomander of ambergris as “a speaking sweet”. Or, as Leontes has it in A Winter’s Tale, “If this be magic, let it be an art/Lawful as eating.”

And it is a special art. The architect and perfumer Octavian Coifan, whose blog 1000 Fragrances is perhaps the best of the lot (Coifan, unusually in the genre, knows what he’s talking about instead of following the nonsense put out by perfumery PRs), describes it as “the Eighth Art” and anyone who has smelt beyond the sad, shuddering array of duty-free or departmentstore fragrance counters will surely agree with him.

But it is a unique art: in consuming it, we consume it. A piece of music is still there however often we listen to it. A book can be read and re-read.

Engraving Conch Shell Perfume Holder Netherlands, Royal Dynasty (1600)

Gold, diamonds, quartz, enamel Perfume bottle Tiffany Co. (1895)

Perfume Atomizer Donna Karan New York. (1989)

B

ut every time a perfume, whatever its provenance, works its magic, it dies a little. The olfactory delight is provoked by the evaporation of molecules: transient ones like the lime or grapefruit oils at the top of your morning spritz, or heavier, slower-evaporating ones – musks, ambers, civets, woods – at its base. When they’re gone, they’re gone, into the atmosphere and around the world. Gone. The laws of entropy dictate that you simply cannot stand there and wait for that bottle of Mitsouko (the one you blithely used up before Guerlain “reformulated” it and spoiled it for ever) to somehow reassemble itself around you.

But social, too. Some contemporary fragrances, infested with ill-mannered molecules which would be greatly improved by a damn good thrashing and a permanent ASBO, are out of place and over-applied, but generally speaking good scent, subtly applied, will somehow orchestrate itself so that walking into a room full of perfumed women (and, often now, men) can lift the spirits and prime one for good times. Smelling good is a potent sign that we have made an effort, we are intending to please, that erotic adventure (her fingers dropping with myrrh) may be on our mind but being civilised is even more so. As an eccentric Cambridge academic once observed to a friend: “After a certain age, dear, a little lipstick is a kindness to others.” As with lipstick, so with scent.

Gold, rock crystal, enamel Perfume bottle Tiffany Co. (1758)

Iconic Perfume Bottles Chanel No 5. (1921) & Estee Lauder (1930)

K

nowledge of something perfumery came to Europe as early as the 14th century due partially to Arabic influences and knowledge. But it was the Hungarians who ultimately introduced the first modern perfume. The first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, was made in 1370 at the command of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known throughout Europe as Hungary Water. The art of perfumery prospered in Renaissance Italy, and in the 16th century, Italian refinements were taken to France by Catherine de’ Medici’s personal perfumer, Rene le Florentin.

His laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway, so that no formulas could be stolen en route.

France quickly became the European center of perfume and cosmetic manufacture.

Cultivation of flowers for their perfume essence, which had begun in the 14th century, grew into a major industry in

the south of France. During the Renaissance period, perfumes were used primarily by royalty and the wealthy to mask body odors resulting from the sanitary practices of the day.

Partly due to this patronage, the western perfumery industry was created. Perfume enjoyed huge success during the 17th century. Perfumed gloves became popular in France and in 1656, the guild of glove and perfume-makers was established. Perfumers were also known to create poisons; for instance, a French duchess was murdered when a perfume/poison was rubbed into her gloves and was slowly absorbed into her skin.

Perfume came into its own when Louis XV came to the throne in the 18th century.

His court was called “la cour parfumée” (the perfumed court).

Madame de Pompadour ordered generous supplies of perfume, and King Louis demanded a different fragrance for his apartment everyday. The court of Louis XIV was even named due to the scents which were applied daily not only to the skin but

also to clothing, fans and furniture. Perfume substituted for soap and water. The use of perfume in France grew steadily. By the 18th century, aromatic plants were being grown in the Grasse region of France to provide the growing perfume industry with raw materials. Even today, France remains the centre of the European perfume design and trade.

it today. Alchemy gave way to chemistry and new fragrances were created. The industrial revolution had in no way diminished the taste for perfume, there was even a fragrance called “Parfum à la Guillotine”. Under the postrevolutionary government, people once again dared to express a penchant for luxury goods, including perfume. A profusion of vanity boxes containing perfumes Perfume reached its peak appeared in the 19th century. in England during the reigns of Henry VIII and Queen In early America, the first scents Elizabeth I. All public places were colognes and scented were scented during Queen water by French explorers in Elizabeth’s rule, since she New France. Florida water, an could not tolerate bad smells. uncomplicated mixture of eau It was said that the sharpness de cologne with a dash of oil of of her nose was equaled only cloves, cassia, and lemongrass, by the slyness of her tongue. was popular.

Ladies of the day took great pride in creating delightful fragrances and they displayed their skill in mixing scents.

As with industry and the arts, perfume was to undergo profound change in the 19th century. Changing tastes and the development of modern chemistry laid the foundations of perfumery as we know

Mixology of Eau de Parfum Jean-Marie Farina (1811)

EDITORIAL DKNY SPRING 2015 COLLECTION Styles: Cereal Lendrum Photos: Ayata Young

Donna Karan with models wearing looks from her DKNY Spring 1989 collection in Times Square.

CondĂŠ Nast Archive/Corbis

E

very element is an object of desire, a dance between masculine and feminine: Pinstriped tailoring. Sculpted planes that newly define bustiers, dresses and skirts. A crisp white shirt or a taffeta turtleneck. Artisan coats from metallic blazers and brocade clutches to luxe skins – with an optional shearling collar. Evening goes one of two ways: sexy tuxedoes or sensual drapes of sheer, matte and devore.

Luxury should never be an either/or. It should be an “and”: Warmth and artistry. Function and fantasy. Chic and personality. It’s a look as powerful and individual as you.”

With love,

1

2

3

1.Polo 1991 190 $ 2. High-Heeled Converse 250$ 3. Opening Ceremony DKNY Hoodie 589$ 4. Embrace Fragrance Price Upon Request

4

1

2

4

3

1. DKNY Bag 350 $ 2. Opening Ceremony DKNY Sports Bag 250$ 3. Opening Ceremony DKNY Beanie 250$ 4. Opening Ceremony White Heeled Converse 250$ 5. Opening Ceremony White Platform Converse 200$

5

GLOBAL MARKETS FINALISTS OF THE PHOTO COMPETITIONS 2015 Jurys: Laurence Wang, Virginia Wong and Cereal Lendrum

1. New York City, United States

The Yellow Cab, New York.

Maher. James. 2015

The American Flag Maher. James. 2015

#loveison Maher. James. 2015

Embrace the Egg Young. Ayata. 2015

2. London, UK

The Black Taxi Walsh, James, 2015

The Yellow Brick Walsh, James, 2015

3. Hong Kong, China

The Pink Facade Leung, CK, 2015

The Star Ferry Leung, CK, 2015

4. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Towers Gainer. Jonathan. 2015

Women Leung, CK, 2015

SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT ON FRAGRANCE ANIMAL TESTING Words: Virginia Wong Photos: Laurence Wang

Fragrance Animal Testing Protest in 2014, New York

I

n a huge victory for animals, as of March 2013, the European Union (EU) has banned the sale of any cosmetics or cosmetics ingredients that have been tested on animals.

This marketing ban means that companies all around the world will have to abandon animal testing for cosmetics that they want to sell in the EU. The decision follows vigorous campaigning by PETA and its international affiliates that included public protests, phone calls, and more than 20,000 e-mails.

Additionally, with the help of PETA’s funding and scientific expertise, China is making strides in moving away from animal testing and is poised to approve its first non-animal test for cosmetics. Israel has banned cosmetics testing on animals, and thanks to our months of meetings and discussions with government and other India officials, the Drugs Controller General of India has suspended all tests on animals for cosmetics until non-animal methods are accepted, and the

government is considering a permanent ban.

Unfortunately, things are different in the United States.

As hard as it is to believe, animal experiments for cosmetics continue even though non-animal tests are widely available. Instead of measuring how long it takes a chemical to burn away the cornea of a rabbit’s eye, manufacturers can now drop that chemical onto cornealike 3-D tissue structures produced from human cells.

Likewise, human skin cultures can be grown and purchased for skin irritation testing. These and dozens more tests now in use today are faster and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than the old animal tests ever were.

However, huge multiproduct manufacturers, such as Johnson & Johnson—driven by a fear of lawsuits (although animal tests have not proved effective in a company’s defense when a consumer sues) and, inexplicably, frozen by inertia—continue to poison, burn, and blind animals in tests.

Animal Testing and Cruelty DKNY, New York City Testing

This reluctance to change is especially unforgivable considering the current wide availability of superior non-animal tests. Instead of measuring how long it takes a chemical to burn away the cornea of a rabbit’s eye, manufacturers can now drop that chemical onto donated human corneas. Human skin cultures can be grown and ordered for irritancy testing.

These and dozens more tests now in use today are cheaper, faster, and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than the old animal tests ever were.

Even more incomprehensible is the continued demand by some U.S. environmental organizations for more and more animal testing of cosmetics products even as the rest of the world moves away from these crude, cruel methods and toward modern, more effective nonanimal methods. Recently, a scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), while acknowledging that there “are non-animal tests that are really valuable,

informative, cheaper, and quicker” than animal tests, publicly disagreed with the EU ban on cosmetics testing on animals, claiming that “we need to test these products on live things” instead of using the widely accepted, validated non-animal alternatives to test cosmetics.

It would appear that the current scientists at the NRDC have never even bothered to read the National Academy of Sciences report Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century and are ignoring the sea change that has occurred in the last quarter-century regarding our understanding of how biological processes work. These advances in our understanding have led to the development of test methods that can look directly at cellular mechanisms rather than at the crude “black box” results that come from using animals. If it were up to the NRDC, however, which does not believe that we can “live in a world without animal testing,” and regards animals suffering in laboratory experiments as mere “things,”

Contributor

LAURENCE WANG I ILLUSTRATOR I Philadephia, USA VIRGINIA WONG I WRITER I Philadephia, USA JAMES MAHER I PHOTOGRAPHER I New York, USA AYATA YOUNG I PHOTOGRAPHER I New York, USA JAMES WALSH I PHOTOGRAPHER I London, Uk CK LEUNG I PHOTOGRAPHER I Hong Kong, China JONH GAINER I PHOTOGRAPHER I Dubai, United Arab Emirates CEREAL LENDRUM I STYLIST I Hong Kong, China

ISSN 1234-5679

15

HISTORY EMBRACE DR. DKNY SCENT 2015 GLOBAL HISTORY 2015 SOCIAL

PROMOTIONAL NOT FOR RESALE

readdkny.com