A closer look at Bovary by Peer Parfum.
We recently talked with Gina Fischli, who co-founded the brand alongside Clemens Hunziker, exploring the mechanics of desire, the tragic destruction of Flaubert’s heroine, and how the composition unfolded during their session with perfumer Antoine Lie.
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SC: There have been a lot of new fragrance brands launching over the past few years, and many people working in the creative industry have been choosing this medium to bring their work to another level. Could you tell us a bit more about your artistic background and what is the reason for bringing Peer Parfum to life? What drew you both to the olfactory medium? But also, what’s your personal experience with perfume?
G: In hindsight, it seems obvious to me that I should work with perfume, because throughout my artistic practice I have always been interested in the mechanics of desire. In reality it happened to me just as it did to many others. Amidst a world staggering from one crisis into the next, all of a sudden I fell in love with perfume, somewhat obsessively. Perhaps we want to balance something out, or maybe it was simply an easy discovery in the search for something beautiful.
Clemens, on the other hand, has been interested in perfume ever since we met in high school, so I trusted his nose and business sense.
*Art by Emily Sundblad x Peer Parfum
SC: Could you guide us a bit through the composition? Flaubert’s novel is famously a slow, tragic descent, so how did you and Antoine Lie imagine the evolution of Emma Bovary unfolding through the actual development of this scent on the skin?
G: To represent the tragedy of Emma’s destruction and self destruction was deeply important to me, and I knew from the beginning that Antoine Lie could achieve it like no other.
Yet there is far more to her that we wanted to capture. What I love about the book is that, despite the satire, you can never simply condemn her. You cannot help but sympathise with her quest for freedom, her hunger for love, and her longing for the finer things in life. She remains intensely human, even when she is terrible or terribly selfish.
To reflect her many facets, the fragrance opens with a luminous accord of sparkling citrus and mild spices, before the white flowers come barging in, demanding everything. To me, they smell of aspiration, that distinct diva aroma hungry for more. Later, an almost leathery animal patchouli, a touch of vanilla, and a smouldering birch tar emerge, pulling you down into the belly of the beast.
The composition is remarkably potent and enduring, and though people often lament that there are too many loud fragrances, we felt anything less would be unfair for a perfume called Bovary. She is not an understated figure.
SC: Is there anything further you would like us to know about the final profile of Bovary, or a specific element of the composition you feel deserves particular attention?
G: I also wanted to mention that we really tried to create something entirely unisex, as I know plenty of men who are Madame Bovary too. I was incredibly grateful for Antoine’s skill in formulating a scent that, despite referring to a literary heroine or perhaps an antiheroine, does not smell overly gendered, to me at least.