Fashion Institute Of Technology - Fragrance Workshop

During my visit to New York a few weeks ago, a select few of those on my course had the opportunity to visit New York fashion university, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) to take part in a workshop within the cosmetics and fragrance marketing course they offer. The FCP course at Nottingham Trent has connections with FIT and even offer an exchange programme where FCP students have the opportunity to travel to New York for 6 months to attend FIT, so after hearing so much about the university it was really nice to finally see it with my own eyes!

As we walked into the Annette Green fragrance foundation studio, where the workshop was to be held, it instantly reminded me of a school science lab just much more technical and interesting. This is the only fragrance studio on a college campus in the United States, so you could say I was rather exited to be there. We were introduced to Virginia Bonofiglio, Associate Chairperson of Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing department at FIT who ran the workshop. It was amazing to meet a woman who has been behind some truly groundbreaking fragrances and has had so much experience in the fragrance field.

Fashion Institute of Technology - Annette Green fragrance foundation studio

During the workshop Bonofiglio explained that there is a methodology of smelling and that scents can be categorised into different genealogies (groups) including citrus, floral, green, herbaceous. She also stated that fragrances are designed to make us feel a certain way, whether this be happy, sad, empowered, which is determined by what you associate with that particular scent. I'm sure you've all noticed this before, I know that certain perfumes take me to a particular place, for example my mum bought me 'Flash' by Jimmy Choo as a gift for doing well in my GCSE's so as I started A-Levels this was the perfume I was wearing, therefore every time I wear Flash it reminds me of being at college.

Bonofiglio also discussed how a popularity of a perfume is often determined by what else is going on in the world during the moment in time that perfume is released. She used unisex fragrance 'CK1' by Calvin Klein as an example, CK1 was bought out in 1994, a time when Calvin Klein was really popular as a brand and when gender and gender equality was topic of conversation. Therefore this perfume catered for exactly what consumers desired hence it became so popular. She also touched upon how different cultures are attracted to different types of fragrances explaining that the American market love fragrances which linger however, this is not at all popular within the Asian market. Bonofiglio used Viktor and Rolf 'Flowerbomb' as an example explaining that this scent will linger in a lift long after the person wearing it had stepped out.

Yesterday during a lecture my course mates and I were given a brief overview of our next module which will be based around fragrance (yay). We will be starting this module in a couple of weeks, but for now I will be touching upon the fragrance topic within my blog as a bit of background research. So I hope you're ready for many more fragrance based posed over the coming months.

Love, Isabella x

Photo Credits: All Own Images