The Link Between Fashion & Fragrance

By Meaghan Scotti

Concept By: Dr Ekta Y. MD MBA MS

Perfumes have always been closely tied to fashion because of their ability to create an olfactory experience that can be as alluring or as powerful as the visual experience of high fashion. In today’s ever changing fashion landscape, it’s no surprise that major fashion houses turn to perfume to evoke certain feelings and signal specific messaging about their brand.

Just like certain decades can be defined by the popularity of certain silhouettes, colors, styles, and ethos, perfumes follow suit with the popularity of scents gaining and losing prominence overtime as trends change.

Today’s trend cycle, which has largely been accelerated by the influence of social media, determines the “in” products. Ranging from the newest viral leggings or makeup dupes, to homegoods and household appliances, it’s no surprise that social media has turned certain perfumes into viral sensations. The history of its popularity in the United States and how scents shift with trends gives us a glimpse into the future and shape what we might expect from luxury perfume brands and scent profiles yet to come.

Before being widely accessible, perfumes held an air of sophistication and mysticism and was considered a luxury good reserved for sale in specialty shops. It wasn’t until perfumes were mass produced and sold in supermarkets in the 1950’s that middle class Americans started wearing fragrances regularly. One of the first major perfumes to hit the market was Estée Lauder’s “Youth Dew”, a spicy, woody, and floral fragrance that was meant to smell sophisticated. “Youth Dew” set the stage for what everyday wearers would expect from other brands, who followed suit and marketed their own perfumes more widely.

As the popular hyper-feminine dress of the 1950’s found itself being replaced by the influence of counterculture and psychedelic patterns and colors in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the new “it” scents shifted as well. The fashion of the 1960’s wouldn’t exist without the influence of “hippie” culture, which popularized the uses of Eastern spices and scents. As fashion shifted towards the use of more natural materials like cotton and hemp, popular scents shifted to match the down-to-earth and hippie vibe in the form of perfumes with notes of patchouli, amber, and other herbal scents. “Aqua Manda”, with notes of patchouli, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and lavender encapsulate this era.

The 1980’s saw a huge shift with flashy neon colors, the popularization of workout wear, and the overall pull towards all things sultry. These bold fashion choices of the decade were matched with even bolder scents. Dior released “Poison”, a fruity, spicy, and musky fragrance that was as striking and alluring as the trends of the day. Many scents of the decade were bright and musky, with heavy floral and spicy influence.

As the 1980’s came to a close, the 1990’s shifted away from audacious patterns and colors and towards more approachable everyday looks. Grunge style, promoted by bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden, was being adopted into mainstream culture, and the simplicity of casual wear shaped the popularity of fragrances of the time. People looked for modest scents to match the return to muted colors and styles of the 1990’s. This manifested in sweet, light, and approachable scents with vanilla leading the pack with fragrances like “Vanilla Field”, and Clinique’s “Happy” perfume. The universal appeal and comfort of vanilla made it a popular scent that lent itself to the casual style popular at the time.

The popular styles of the early 2000s can be marked by denim everything, bright colors, layering clothing, and an overall playful vibe that translated into the scents of the decade. Vanilla continued to be in favor because of its easy wearability, but bright florals and powdery notes accompanied the pops of bright color and playful style choices. “Princess” by Vera Wang was a popular choice for its powdery and sweet floral notes.

In 2023, the resurgence of 1990’s and Y2K fashion continued to have a strong influence on current trends, along with the delicate bows, pastels, tights, and leg warmers of “Ballet-Core” saturating mainstream fashion. Fresh scents like “Juliet Has a Gun” and Glossier’s signature scent are all the rage right now, but what might be next? With the breakneck speed that trends fall in and out of favor, it’s hard to pin down which scents are here to stay for the remainder of the decade, and which will fade into the background.

https://www.euromonitor.com/article/the-parallel-trajectories-of-apparel-and-beauty-part-ii-the-allure-of-l uxury-fashion-in-fragrances

https://www.carrementbelle.com/blog/en/2020/05/06/perfume-trends/ https://theglossarymagazine.com/beauty-wellness/iconic-perfumes-1950s/ https://www.theperfumeshop.com/blog/expertise/classic-perfumes-of-the-50s-60s-and-70s/ https://theglossarymagazine.com/beauty-wellness/iconic-80s-fragrances/ https://www.instyle.com/beauty/smells-teen-spirit-90s-era-fragrances-we-love

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