Narciso Rodriguez, musk and minimalism
Some creations stand the test of time without losing their allure. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s wedding dress is one such example. So is the for her fragrance. Behind both these iconic pieces is Narciso Rodriguez. For over thirty years, the Cuban-American designer has been building a body of work in pursuit of purity. From fashion to fragrances, he opens the doors to his world. Isabelle Cerboneschi
Designer Narciso Rodriguez ©Sølve Sundsbø
In both the fashion and fragrance worlds, few designers have managed to establish a signature that is instantly recognisable. Narciso Rodriguez is one of them.
From the iconic wedding dress worn by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, which he designed in 1996, to the fragrance for her, launched in 2003 and still one of the greatest successes in contemporary perfumery, the designer has been pursuing the same quest for three decades: that of purity, sensuality and timelessness.
Narciso Rodriguez was born into a Cuban-American family in New Jersey on 27 January 1961. After studying at the Parsons School of Design, he began his career at Anne Klein alongside Donna Karan, then moved to Calvin Klein on Seventh Avenue, which was the epicentre of New York fashion. There he made a fateful encounter: with Carolyn Bessette, the brand’s public relations director. They quickly became the best of friends, to the point where the young woman entrusted him with designing her wedding dress.
They quickly became the best of friends, to the point where the young woman entrusted him with designing her wedding dress. At her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. on Cumberland Island in Georgia on 21 September 1996, one of the few images to capture this secret ceremony shows the bride looking utterly chic in a radically simple white silk dress.
The for her fragrance, launched in 2003, is still a big success: one bottle sold every 15 seconds. ©Narciso Rodriguez
A year later, in 1997, Narciso Rodriguez launched his brand in Milan before relocating it to New York. His minimalist designs have left their mark on fashion history, but following the Covid-19 pandemic, the designer closed his fashion house to focus on his private clientele. This new pace has allowed him to spend more time with his family: his husband Thomas Tolan and their twins, Ivy Carolyn and Callum Thomas.
His quest for purity has not been expressed solely through his clothing. It has also become the guiding principle behind his fragrance range, which he is developing with the Shiseido Group. When Narciso Rodriguez launched the fragrance for her in 2003, he decided to build the scent around musk, which was at odds with the trends of the time. It proved to be a successful gamble: 23 years later, a bottle of for her sells every fifteen seconds.
Speaking to ALL-I-C, Narciso Rodriguez agreed to discuss his career, his inspirations, his love of musk and his vision of an elegance that transcends passing fashions.
INTERVIEW
Twenty years after its launch, the perfume for her continues to captivate, with one bottle sold every fifteen seconds worldwide. You have succeeded in transforming a simple base note into a universal olfactory signature. How do you explain this?
Narciso Rodriguez : When for her launched, everything about it went against the industry trends and norms. It was a challenge to make the team understand the beauty that musk held for me – its magic – its sensuality – how it differed on everyone’s skin. It had been out of fragrance “fashion” for decades. There was so much passion that went into the creation of the scent and the creation of the bottle. I still believe that it is all of this passion and beauty that fascinates women and men alike after all of these years.
This fragrance was inspired by a bottle of Egyptian musk oil given to you by a friend in the 1980s. Can you tell us more about that?
When I was a teenager in the 70s, musk was at the height of its cool. My friends and I would travel into NYC to buy our small bottles of oil from street vendors. They were so precious and small and “our scent”. My fascination with musk has never waned. Throughout the years, I combined it with amber and other oils to create different iterations of the musk I loved. My dear friend and forever muse Carolyn Bessette also loved musk and used it as well.
Narciso Rodriguez decided to build the scent around musk, which was at odds with the trends of the time
Why has musk become the backbone of your fragrance universe?
To me musk is sensual, mysterious and uniquely different on everyone’s skin. It becomes your very own scent; it is at the core of all of my fragrances because of these unique properties. There is no other material like it.
Is this fragrance, like a second skin, an extension of your minimalist approach to fashion?
I love the purity of musk and how it can be intoxicating in its purest state or when mixed with other scents. It is, like my work in fashion, about the body and a feeling of sensuality that is never overt or loud.
One of Narciso Rodriguez’s latest fragrances, Neroli Essence Eau de Parfum Intense, features orange blossom, green tea and musk
One of your newest fragrances, Neroli Essence Eau de Parfum Intense, celebrates orange blossom, green tea and musk, which remains your signature. When I smell it, I feel that it is a fragrance that is both refined and assertive, but also more soothing, which is perhaps due to the presence of orange blossom. Could it be an expression of inner peace, of your state of mind today?
I am so fortunate to be able to work with brilliant collaborators in fragrance that bring my thoughts and emotions to life. We have very abstract and beautiful conversations of how to achieve different moods all while always holding on to the core sensuality and uniqueness of musk. Orange blossom in its many forms can be so beautifully intoxicating; its power to captivate the senses and create this feeling of peace was definitely part of the creative conversation.
If you had to translate it into a garment, what would it be?
If this fragrance were a garment it would be a pale blush silk slip.
Backstage ©Narciso Rodriguez
Your silhouettes are clean and architectural. Does your minimalist style influence the composition of your fragrances?
I love purity, sensuality and precision in my fashion work as well as celebrating the craft. The same ethos is in the fragrance collection – I “design” with this mind set.
Perfume touches millions of people, whereas couture remains something more intimate. How have you reconciled these two scales?
I believe both are intimate – both are about the body and about the skin they touch. How they make you feel and how you love each fragrance or dress forever. They hold memories long after you have chosen to move on from them.
Spring-Summer 2020 Collection ©Narciso Rodriguez
You have often mentioned your mother as the inspiration for your vision of femininity. Is there an olfactory memory linked to her in your perfumes?
Your childhood memories form your future fragrance preferences. My mother loved Chanel N°5 extract but it was my aunt’s gardenia garden and its blooms that I think made the greatest and most lasting fragrance impression on me.
The perfume market has become very saturated. How do you maintain a strong identity in a world dominated by marketing?
So much of what we see in the market today consists of dupes, low quality ingredients and flankers upon flankers which often don’t feel necessary. Much of this is both driven by or conceived to drive social conversation; but, staying true to quality and to your original foundation is what makes a fragrance loved and respected throughout time. In the case of for her, this creation is still loved in its original form 25 + years later. And for that I am eternally grateful.
for her pure musc blanc ©Narciso Rodriguez
You have launched more introspective men’s fragrances such as for him. Do you feel that men’s perfumery is evolving towards greater softness?
The men’s fragrance world has evolved so much over recent years. It’s wonderful to see both young and adult men experimenting with uniquely different ideas about what a man’s fragrance should be. I now enjoy working on the mens fragrances as much as I do the womens fragrances.
Narciso Rodriguez for him musc santal
If your next fragrance were an emotion, what would it be?
JOY!
There is a lot of talk about minimalism today, but when you compare it to what the 1990s were like, it’s not the same spirit at all. What were you trying to convey in those years with your purity of style?
Today minimalism is a trend that is widely used by many brands. It differs from the purity of 90s minimalism and its cool factor.
for her pure musc blanc campaign Courtesy: Narciso Rodriguez
What was the spirit of New York like at the time you launched your brand in 1997?
NYC in the 90s was brilliantly exciting. The fashion scene and the energy was electric. At the moment there is such a fascination and nostalgia for it. I feel so fortunate to have lived and worked in NYC throughout this amazing period. There was inspiration everywhere you went; the way people dressed, the music at the clubs, etc. It’s still a strong source of inspiration for me.
Last year, you announced your discreet return to the world of fashion. Where are you today?
I am working with private clients who appreciate my work and building a different kind of fashion house – one that is a bit more independent of the system and suits me.
Narciso Rodriguez, Resort 2015
When you compare the fashion world as you experienced it when you started out, which you loved, with today’s world, what has changed radically?
Today fashion seems dominated by corporations and creative directors. It feels a bit lacking in soul. When I started in fashion, collections were created by a designer not a committee of designers and marketing people. It’s hard to understand why it’s fallen into this trap.
What is your personal Holy Grail, the thing that makes you get up in the morning and continue to create?
Beauty and the excitement of something new – to create something that wasn’t there before – something that captivates and inspires me and whoever experiences it.
What fundamental life lesson do you want to pass on to your kids?
I would love for my children to learn from me that they should create their own path and remain true to themselves no matter how difficult that path may be.
