Florence Welch On The Power of Fragrance And Creating Her Own Scents While On Tour
Starring in the new Gucci Bloom Profumo Di Fiori campaign, the singer-songwriter shares her fascination with fragrance and a secret passion for creating her own scents while on tour with her band Florence and the Machine
Romantic and feminine, yet mysterious and dark: the Gucci Bloom fragrance collection has unveiled its newest addition, Profumo Di Fiori, via a campaign like no other. Starring some truly legendary women, Florence Welch joins Anjelica Huston, Jodie Turner-Smith and Susie Cave in bringing the fragrance’s powers to life in a beautiful series of images shot in the mystical Umbrian countryside.
With notes of ylang ylang, tuberose and jasmine-bud extract paired with a warm, earthy base of sandalwood and musk, this fragrance certainly isn’t for the faint of heart – something all these women have in common, not least Florence, whose soaring, transcendent vocals have long since captured the imagination of Gucci Creative Director, Alessandro Michele.
Here, Bazaar speaks to Florence about her longstanding love affair with scent, the magical ambiance of the shoot location and how she concocts her own perfumes whilst on the road with her band…
I always liked to smell everything. You know, when you’re younger and you buy the different body sprays and lotions you get at the supermarket or pharmacy? I used to love buying them and spraying some on before school. Today, fragrance is such an important step in my day-to-day life. For me, perfume makes me feel dressed; I feel very underdressed if I don’t have one on. I’m what the fragrance community calls a ‘fraghead’ – someone who is absolutely obsessed with perfume.
How would you describe Profumo Di Fiori?
I would say that most floral scents can be too sweet, but this one has a real warmth to it. I love this new addition to the Gucci Bloom family, because the floral isn’t overwhelming and the sandalwood adds a woody note. I also love tuberose – it’s a Victorian funeral flower. There’s a darkness and a heaviness to it that makes the perfume feel warm and comforting without being claustrophobic; it envelopes you in the best way.
The new campaign was shot in the Umbrian countryside. Can you share any highlights?
It’s just the most incredible place; it was a based on a monastery that used to be at the location we were filming in, but the area was then built by a surrealist architect and it was a space for theatre and experimentation. It just felt like we were in a magical wonderland. The fact that I was in this iconic place, amongst these incredible icons like Jodie Turner-Smith, Anjelica Huston and Susie Cave made it even more special. I also really love dance – modern dance, actually – so getting to move and express myself in this open, creative space felt so amazing. When the film crew were shooting other scenes of the campaign I would just walk around and explore the countryside, and just take it all in.
Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele with Florence Welch, on location at the campaign’s shoot in Umbria
Before you record a new song or perform on stage, do you have any sort of rituals involving fragrance to help you get into the right state of mind?
My band and I started learning about perfumes while on tour last year. We started with Arabian oud – which I know is [worn a lot] in Dubai, and then we started trying the whole spectrum of fragrances. We began mixing and trying to make our own perfumes. It was really fun and something we ended up doing with our free time during the High As Hope tour in 2019.
It’s quite a complicated process, but to give you a rough idea, you need carrier oils (like sweet-almond oil) and other ingredients from a perfumery market to make it. You then have to try it yourself and implement a mix of ingredients to strike a balance, so that you’re not creating an aromatherapy oil but rather a perfume. Some ingredients [we wanted were] discontinued so it’s tricky to find them. Our drummer [Loren Humphrey] is really into it and finds great places to buy rare ingredients for our perfumes. You could say we’ve become seasoned perfumers.
Do you keep all the perfumes that you’ve created?
Oh definitely. I have a crazy fragrance collection and I’ve learnt so much about perfumes. There are certain ways to keep them; some in the dark, some in the fridge. Funnily enough, the perfumes I made had a lot of tuberose and ylang ylang, which are ingredients used in Profumo Di Fiori. Those essential oils are just classics and smell amazing when combined.
Do you think you’ll ever launch your own fragrance line?
I don’t know about that, but I’ve definitely become obsessed, so maybe one day… you never know! What I’ve found so fascinating is that there is a huge community that’s so passionate about fragrance and so many interesting people who share my passion too. It’s incredible to be part of it.
Photography by Floria Sigismondi
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s November 2020 issue