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THINK
60 •
PPB
• JULY 2015
FAST FORWARD
YOU LOOK
SCENT
-SATIONAL
THINK
FRAGRANT FASHION PAVES A PATH TO HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
BY TAMA UNDERWOOD
HETHER YOU SEE IT AS a practical necessity or something out of science fiction, wearable
scent technology is on the horizon.
Scientists and retailers are exploring the idea that custom scents, made ever-present through fra-
grance-emitting clothing and accessories, can reduce negative emotional feelings and bring about a more relaxed, healthful
state of mind.
A well-designed olfactory environment has been shown to reduce stress, performance anxiety and insomnia, as well as
combat memory loss and nausea. It may also bring about behavioral changes and enhance or suppress appetites.
“Smells create our own reality,” Jenny Tillotson told an audience at the 2014 Quantified Self Europe Conference. She’s
a researcher at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK,
studying “aromachology”, or the effects of fragrance
on human psychology and behavior, and she has con-
sulted with Nike, The North Face, Toyota and other
corporations in order to build their brands by merging the ancient art of perfumery with
emerging technology.
The overall goal of Tillotson’s research is to produce commonplace devices that monitor a
person’s stress levels and release specific scents to normalize his or her emotional state, but her
work is still in its early phase.
In the meantime, apparel retailers such as BCBGMAXAZRIA are dabbling in the emerg-
ing scent market via feel-good promotions. The fashion brand is collaborating with Unilever’s
Magnum Ice Cream division on a scented ladies’ shawl distributed as a free gift with purchase.
Available throughout the summer, the limited-edition wrap is infused with a decadent choco-
late aroma inspired by Belgian chocolate and is meant to let wearers experience the same sense
of pleasure one feels when indulging in a Magnum-brand ice cream bar.
The chocolate scent was incorporated into the wraps using oNotes—a scent-messaging sys-
tem created by Vapor Communications, which calls itself a sensorial delivery company and has a
Harvard scientist at the helm.
Lubov Azria, chief creative officer of BCBGMAXAZRIA, says the scented wraps in the
promotion take “fashion beyond the realm of the visual and tactile, giving everyone a new and
innovative way to experience fashion as a true feast of the senses.”
Magnum Ice Cream has collaborated with fashion brands in the past, including Zac Posen
and Dolce & Gabbana, but this is its first time using scent technology in a promotion.
SCENTED WEARABLES
W
Lubov Azria, chief creative officer of
BCBGMAXAZRIA, wears a chocolate-
scented wrap the company is offer-
ing as a free gift with purchase.
PRNEWSFOTO/UNILEVER