Born in 1913, Piero Fornasetti was a Milanese painter, sculptor, interior decorator and a creator of books who developed over 11,000 products. The design work has been continued by his son Barnaba and now extends to textiles, ceramics and jewellery.
For the fragrance project Barnaba worked in close collaboration with IFF perfumer Olivier Polges and United Perfumes. The idea was to create a fragrance that encapsulated the Fornasetti house in Milan, communicating the old wood and old library feel of the place, hence the use of cedarwood and incense. At the top are notes of lavender and
thyme, with the cedarwood and orris at the heart and the incense, Tolu balsam, birch/styrax and labdanum at the base. “The spirit of humour and poetry of Fornasetti asks for perfume but for me it was unlike any other collaboration,” says Polge. It was also his first home fragrance so required careful selection of ingredients that burn well and don’t produce too much smoke. “For me it was much more in line with what I like to do – much more creative. Also because there were so few decision makers as I was working directly with Barnaba.” This also helped make for a very quick development process – less than a year, including all the tests required for such home products.
The collection comprises a range of fragrance devices. There are two sizes of scented candle as well as a scented candle gift set, room spray and incense sticks. There is also a scented sphere decorated with three face motifs and available in three applications: incense burner; scented rocks which release the scent through a slotted lid; and diffusing oil which emanates through a solid ceramic lid. Prices start at £75/€95 for the room spray and £95/€120 for the scented candle.
