Perfume Trends - Spring & Summer 2013 & 2014

Trend forecasting in perfumery is more or less seasonal like fashion in terms of olfactive notes and compositions. For the next spring & summer seasons forecasters have already spoken their wisdom. According to Seven Scents we will move away from Middle Eastern notes (such as Oud), and move towards more tropical scents.

We will see fragrances with passion fruit, mango, guava, dragon fruit notes. For younger audiences we will find nectarines, peaches, combined with florals such as jasmines and orange blossoms.

Launches like Issey Miyake limited edition for summer is combining pink grapefruit, guava, lichee with aquatic florals for women and pineapple and kiwi with spices for men. By the way, this is another trend - spiced perfumes combined with cashmere woods and iris.

Inspired by farmers and markets, the fragrances for summer are lighter and fresher, with fresh strawberries, delicate roses and slightly delicate gourmand touches. Roses will come with a modern twist, combined with fruits and accents of aldehydes and musk. Strawberries are providing a greener touch in fruity florals.

We have the new Vera Wang Be Jeweled, with pink peonies (the modern rosy touch) combined with passion fruit, pink crystal sugar and musk.

Also fruity and gourmand is the newest Lolita Lempicka L'Eau Jolie, with notes of Neshi pear, peach blossom and clouds of musk.

V&R La Vie en Rose 2013 comes with notes of rose, sugared almonds, raspberries, wild red berries and cashmere woods.

One more modern rose is presented in the composition of Kenzo's newest Amour My Love with notes of pink grapefruit, passion fruit, red currant, rose, peonies and white musks.

Nine West Love Fury Kiss brings the vibrancy of the trend with notes of mandarine, lichee and Granny Smith apples, combined with jasmine petals and honeysuckle, with a base of transparent musk. Yes, transparency and vibrancy is a trend for these seasons.

Shakira goes one step forward this trend combining ozonic and aquatic notes with passion fruit, exotic tiare, jasmine and frangipani. The common words for the season are: vibe, vitality, freshness, and S by Shakira Aquamarine promises them all.

Carolina Herreira with her CH Eau de Parfum Sublime combines passion fruit, with roses and orchids and a leathery base for a more luxurious perfume for summer, attempting to capture the interest of more mature women.

Jo Malone manages to brings all the trends in one collection called Sugar & Spice (and nothing nice IMO) with refreshing citruses, delirious chocolates and other gourmands notes, berries and all it takes to sell with a forecaster research in hand.

Even Vivienne Westwood, known to be the enfant terrible of fashion is using trend forecasts to launch her fragrance Flirty Alice combining nothing less than notes of sparkling citruses, with aquatic green tea, transparent florals and white woods.

Prada brings one more infusion, this time called L'Eau d'Iris, also combining fresh notes with iris, white musks and woods.

As per inspirations we have "Celebration of life", with vibrant accords with fruity-floral and lush greens and citruses. "Digital and social media revolution" with transparent florals, cool musks, and sheer metallic accords. And "Elemental" where white florals and creamy accords are combined with with soft woods.

I usually prefer to follow Miss Li Edelkoort, so her forecast trend for 2013/2014 is called Nomadism:

Now that our smartphones and tablets and pocketbooks have made us wireless and have set us free we are able to work everywhere and anytime we want; sitting down in a café, laying still in bed, walking in the fields, doing shopping, in flight and in waiting or at the kitchen table. To search for some recipes at the same time. as a result we no longer need a desk or an office and are able to completely reinvent our existence and timetables. Borders of working time and leisure time have faded as we decide on our own timetables and priorities. We are free to roam and wander...

She also predicts another preference - Fetishism:

"There is a moment in fashion where there is this super need to be very fetishistic. There is animalism, there is children’s behaviors, there is of course bondage, there is lace, there is fur, feathers and so on," she explains. "I'm going to investigate why."

...[A ]magic potion invaded the FETISH issue of View On Colour, feeding on all the forms of fetishes and materials inhabited by the force of nature: shells, stones, wood, blood and earth -- exploring variations of gris-gris and amulets as contemporary accessories, establishing a profound link between the wearer and the forces they represent, with fur, skin, bone, minerals and metals.

Voodoo mobiles inspire new and archaic forms for vehicles while voodoo beauty rituals make use of heady concoctions of natural ingredients like mud, minerals, roots, nuts and fruits; eradicating flaws and bewitching age. Our hairdos are primitive and wild, almost animalistic, further exploring the sculpted quality of our hair, coupled with new and unusual extensions.

Mirror, mirror… on our furniture, is giving a unique perspective to inner space, while dramatic gothic tabletop is using mediaeval matters for pitchers and goblets. Clothes are exploring fetishism with inspirations derived from shamanism, alchemy, astrology and black (and white) magic.

We explore the ritual of the circus, inspiring a new generation of clownesque clothes and cosmetics. Some people are born magicians, jokers and jugglers, keeping their balls in the air and educating us with intriguing insight, as witnessed by all the elements of this visionary trend magazine. A hundred and forty pages of unbridled creative energies that are instinctive and therefore unable to be tamed…

Now I know what you are all thinking! She predicted Black and Romanticism! Now it is Nomadism and Fetishism? How can this be? Well, the guru explains:

...[T]here are trends, trends and trends. It’s like a radio where you have long wave, medium wave and short wave. Mind shattering and life-changing trends are the big lifestyle developments that occur only every three to five years, and are set to last for at least fifty years.

– For instance, the 1950’s brought us free time, and we started to think about casual fashion and hobbies, and it is still growing now. And at some point in the 1980’s the idea of luxury became important. It’s still a growing segment.

In her book The Pop-Up Generation: Design Between Dimensions, Edelkoort and her co-editor Lotte van Gelder focus on a new generation of artists, designers and graduates, exploring their visions and work. The pop-up generation belongs in a no man’s land and their projects are temporary and hybrid- like.

– Movements like the pop-up gene- ration come along only now and then. My job is to know when. It’s about seeing the future in a long-term perspective, but still considering the pop-up generation.

Then there is the medium wave that shapes the long wave.

– Every season, there’s a new idea of luxury. The luxury industry refocuses – soon they’ll all be into sunglasses, and then cars or hotels. That’s the seasonal fashions that people think of as trends, says Edelkoort.

– And then you have the more gad- get-focused short wave, inspired by a music video, a DJ, a book, by whatever hit our collective mind. We’re talking three months’ exposure.

(extracted from Zeeweed Stories in an exclusive interview)

So how do we translate that to perfumes?
Companies manufacturing perfume samples and vials embraced this trend by launching many samplers designed for nomadic life styles.
As consumers are using beauty products on-the-go, they need to fit their needs.
Perfume vials need to be smaller, like travel size and easy to attach to cell phones, belts, purses, necklaces, etc... they also are turning into a fashion accessory.

As for fetishism, we have seen a lot of fragrances inspired by children's fairy tales, and leathery fragrances.
We have also seen recently a new technology that offers perfumes to be sprayed in lingerie. Guerlain launched one in the beginning of this year.
If you wish to read a full article about this trend, Elena from Fragrantica offers a long one. Click HERE for the article.