Description
Reed Krakoff perfume is an artistic creation intended for modern and sophisticated women, perceived as a high quality limited edition. Great attention to details was paid in the process of its making – from the ingredients of the composition to the design of bottles and packages; everything had to be exclusive.
The fragrance opens with aldehydes, notes of black pepper and neroli extract. The heart features hard-to-get French hyacinth absolute, blended with peony and extract of violet leaf, placed on a background of high-quality precious vetiver and orris root. The ingredients are expensive – especially vetiver and French hyacinth, which is the ideal recipe for limited editions.
The perfume bottles are offered in four different colors – black, nude, gray and transparent, all done with the help of sommerso technology that allows the creation of a bottle inside a bottle. The inner cylinder is painted in one of the colors, while the exterior is transparent. Each stopper fits the bottle for which it’s explicitly designed, containing the Krakoff logo. Bottles are hand – made by the Seguso family from Murano in Italy, which produces the famous and high-quality murano glass since the 12th century.
The perfume comes in a dove gray (the houses signature color) luxury package that includes an empty murano bottle, its cap, two EDP refills, a funnel for decanting of the scent and the card hand signed by Krakoff. Only 100 bottles will be available for sale. Reed Krakoff was launched in 2010.
Elit82 – :
Everything Reed Krakoff does has a very distinct singularity about it. Reactions to his sudden appearance on the luxury market have been equally singular: His clothes, his handbags, all have a distinct lilt of a kind of new modernity very heavily under the influence of the current voque for steam-punk faux neo industrialism, but thankfully, not obviously so: Evoking Bauhaus, a kind of German undertone, and a not particularly easy to define austerity that has had most fashion editors using the words “Military-Inspired” to describe it. It is true that the man has a kind of austerity about him–his entire “universe” is so very sleek, even ironically somehow threatening. Reed Krakoff is a confident designer and it shows in everything he touches; many have equated this very strong hand and specific tastes to a kind of nouveau arrogance. The fact that Reed Krokoff himself is straight, not particularly handsome nor bubbly has not helped to endear him in any way to the fickle fashion press: Were he younger, openly gay and physically attractive it is certain that the world would be screaming about the advent of a new great American Heritage Life style Brand: But they’re not. They’re saying “How dare he launch such a thing in the midst of a recession.” This is so disquieting when considering how all of Reed Krakoff’s creations are so exquisitely made–down to the last detail, everything thought out in a very cerebral way, with intelligence inherent throughout. Jean Patou launched “Joy,” the most lavishly expensive perfume ever blended, in the middle of the Great Depression, and that was surprising; equally so RK’s first foray in fragrance is indeed a kind of nose snub to the perils of poverty. The austerity misinterpreted by many as being “military” in nature actually comes from an apparent love affair the creator has with barefoot boxing and professional wrestling: Explaining why the word “butch” could be applied to many of the visual effects that make up this new and exciting brand; Interesting that it is all directed to women. Very frankly the first high luxury fashion interpretation of “the New Age of Austerity.” The fragrance, which is packaged with a refinement rarely seen today, is presented in a way that truly is groundbreaking. One gets to choose the color of the flacon, and each is entirely made by hand, with an emory glass stopper, bottle and stopper individually nestled in an intriguing coffin-like box with secret compartments that hold the juice separately in pyrex vials and a beautiful funnel of RK’s signature gunmetal. I got a tester sent to me about a month prior to the launch of this fragrance, and I’ve been testing it ever since: The first detail that hits you when spraying is a kind of surprise. It smells like nothing else–and in it’s flight evokes lead pencil shavings soaked in rose water with a casablanca lily note not too far off in the distance. It’s fairly linear, and does not change much during the evolution of the dry down. The main qualities of it are as follows: It’s light and fresh, but in a novel sense–it smells herbaceaous and floral in a specifically non-perfumery kind of way; almost shockingly so. To smell it you’re somewhat perplexed, wondering if it’s “on purpose,” or, if it’s perfume at all–it smells “real,” as if the fragrance it emits is not perfume but some kind of environment. It never gets heavy–and it dries down to nothing the way some of the Classic Guerlain Eaux do, leaving the faintest hint of softness that’s barely noticeable and could be mistaken for natural body chemistry. It is compelling mainly for this reason–wearing it makes one feel as if they are carrying a kind of enormous conservatory of flowers and exotic fauna about with them–but never reminds the wearer that it is an actual scent. It’s ultra light but remarkable with a very faint sillage that, again, could be easily read as a natural body smell–albeit a really fresh one: It by no means has any sweatiness or funk in any part of its character. To sum it up–Fragrance and Bottle are two different discussions. The fragrance is pleasant, original, but escapes any “genre” classification that is specific. It’s watery, clear, transparent, but not in the same way as an Eau d’Issey or a Cristalle or (gulp) CK One. If you like the smell of a wood shop that happens to have an enormous bouquet of casablanca lilies, tea roses and fragrant hyacinths in it and is also equipped with a ventilation system that pipes in medical grade pure oxygen you’ll love this. It seems more feminine than masculine but I wore it for several days and never felt fey. Considering all the thought and time that was put into it, a reasonably priced high luxury item if you have that kind of taste and money, and you happen to find the smell appealing. RK will be a love/hate thing there’s no doubt: Some people will not understand it at all, mostly because it just doesn’t follow any rules and smells like no other fragrance, others will love and cherish it for exactly the same reasons. A neutral for me–but A+++ for effort and fearlessness.