Contributing Artists
design consultant:
della chuang | dellachuang.com
Nature, which appears simple yet is complex, profoundly influences my approach to design. In my own interpretation of a good design, be it 2D, 3D or digital, I want to showcase simplicity not as a rigid minimalist ideal, in which a formula toward sparseness is almost religiously pursued, but as a composition of forms, materials, and textures that is fundamentally “pure”.
To resonate with Raymond Matts’s fragrance concept, “The blue is important to me as it represents a blue sky... which reminds me of the simple things in life that bring beauty, a place I look to for inspiration and to remind me that I can see and enjoy.” I learned that although a single theme “a blue sky” –– like the plot in a novel –– can be found running through the design, I must also pay close attention to the numerous aesthetic decisions that will comprise the entire Raymond Matts fragrance brand. These decisions must be resolved and elaborated on –– each having individual integrity, but working together to support the whole. Just like a novel has its theme, but chapters, sentences, even individual words must come together to form the whole.
The experience of designing for Raymond Matts is a process of percolation, with the form eventually finding its way to the clear blue sky.
In my mind, scent is linked with the motion of wind. The moving air facilitates the diffusion of scent and motion helps create abstraction in art, furthermore in photography. Motion seamed to be the perfect way for me to translate into images the “aura de parfums” from the Raymond Matts Collection.
Scent has always been a great part of my life. In Provence, natural fragrances are one of nature’s key elements. Motion is another important element because of “Le Mistral”, the strong local wind. “Le Mistral” frequently sweeps the endless lavender fields and the aromatic garigues, spreading exquisite smells and keeping the horizon a deep azure color.
I wanted the photographs for this project to be minimalist, abstract and colorful. Therefore, they were created very much in the manner of abstract expressionist paintings, where motion is an important part of the process and colors are a major ingredient.
Abstraction leaves a door open to our imagination, which I felt was essential for these images. In them, one can see reflections in water, lavender fields in motion under strong summer winds or butterflies flying around. There are endless possibilities! I wanted these photographs to be timeless like the “aura de parfum” from the Raymond Matts Collection, which have aroused my creative vision as much as they have brought back favorite childhood memories.
It was a great honor to be invited to name the Raymond Matts Collection! I have always referred to fragrances that rise above what we typically recognize as mainstream classifications as heightened auras that literally float around the neck and take on an exquisite movement and intrigue.
When first presented with each fragrance, I was given free reign and used onomatopoeia, what the fragrance sounded like in my nose and combined those impressions with the movement, textures, auras, places and people I envisioned.
Tsiling…a high and low note that sparkles. The glint of something so incredible that is moving that catches the eye.
Sunah…The repeated sssss-unah an undulating pulse, slow, sensual. A beauty with no ego.
Pashay…Strength, a dagger of olfactory confidence. A leader with insight into many ideas. A spiritualist of twilight.
Tulile…The teaser, the charmer who winks and makes you smile when you least expect it.
Kaiwe…The huge arc of a blue-green wave, stretching, arching but never folding. The rush of foam meets shaded aqua.
Jarro…The distant rumble of slow sensuality. Bare feet on rough woven fabric, unusually alluring that intrigues, haunts, excites.
Maiday…Raymond Matts named this and is his tribute to the concept of marriage, the purity of love, intimacy, soft whites, beiges, taupes, ivory.