Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin said they had been wanting to explore the other side of photo shoots for fragrance ad campaigns for a while. Byredo offered them this opportunity with a composition inspired by one of their photographs. Originally called “Kirsten — 1996”, it was distributed among a circle of friends with 143 copies running. It’s now been redubbed 1996 Inez & Vinoodh.
1996 Inez & Vinoodh by Byredo is a Oriental Woody fragrance for women and men. Top note is juniper berries. Middle notes are violet and iris. Base notes are amber, leather and patchouli.
Ben Gorham, the founder of the brand, has taken inspiration from the picture, the personalities and vision of the photographers.
“We said, ‘These are the notes that we’ve always been attracted to that come from the different countries we have memories of, this is our house full of warm wood and high end design, this picture represents the duality that underlies our work and our life together, the scent is very much Ben’s impeccable and sensitive interpretation of that“ – Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Opening with the icy, deep green beauty of juniper berries ‘1996’ indeed transports the wearer to another plane and, like the image, combines polar opposites, as the Northern Hemisphere gives way to creamy orris and soft, slightly flirtatious violets. The soul of this fragrance is a warm, almost viscous black amber, it’s deep cognac rapture envelops the wearer and time stands still for just a moment until the journey concludes in the softly-sensual leather and patchouli of the orient.
Photography has become a major source of inspiration for perfumery. Olfactory artists are more and more interested in going inside the picture, establishing bridges between the two arts rather than being content with the old purpose of smelling “invisible scents“.
