Rachel Hayes explores the luxury world of Italian perfume house Xerjoff, and speaks to founder and creative director Sergio Momo
Italian fragrance house Xerjoff creates some of the most luxurious perfumes in the world. Its exotic and rare ingredients, together with a fantastical take on the scent bottle and packaging of its precious aromas, has taken perfumery to another level.
Founded by designer and perfumer Sergio Momo 10 years ago, Xerjoff is a family-run company based in the business and cultural centre of Turin, Northern Italy, with a key laboratory in the French perfume capital of Grasse.
The fragrances are encased in stunning bottles sculpted from precious materials – from carved quartz flacons embossed with 18 karat gold and rubies to dazzling crystal bottles embedded with a piece of real meteorite.
Collections include JX17/17; inspired by the window cabinet of the minerals and semi-precious stones area in London’s Natural History Museum and encased in handcrafted quartz bottles. Only the world’s finest ingredients from all corners of the world are used to create these masterful blends such as ‘Elle’, which blends freshly picked raspberries with woody leather, made lush with jasmine, rose and patchouli, and ‘Damarose’ using Turkish rose absolute and sambac jasmine absolute.
The XJ Shooting Stars is a collection of 10 perfumes inspired by a Siberian meteorite shower, presented with glittering crystal and meteorite. The collection includes ‘Esquel’, with a whisper of Italian lemons, hand-picked lavender tops and a touch of myrtle, and ‘Lua’, an oriental fragrance with notes of melon, Italian bergamot and orange merged with Bulgarian rose and Florentine iris.
The latest collection ‘JTC’, or Join the Club, features 10 remarkable creations. A personal JTC club membership card comes with every bottle, allowing each member to access a club website with exclusive content and initiatives. The JTC collection ties in with the concept of trying to evoke the smell of a members club, rather than opting for a perfume based on a particular scent.
Waterfront was lucky enough to speak to Sergio Momo about himself and his incredible collections, where he described his dedication to his art. “For me perfume is a multisensory universe. Since the 18th century perfumes have been conceived as works of art, from the juice to the flacon and presentations. From René Lalique and its collaboration with Guerlain, to Matisse and Picasso, Baccarat and Murano perfumes are always being connected with forms of art and design. Only modern commercial perfumery has lost this imprinting, and niche perfumery has brought it back.”
Xerjoff’s ‘XJ Casamorati’ collection is inspired by the ancient art of Italian perfumery, recreating the history of the glorious fragrance houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. Paying homage to a vanishing heritage, it combines the highest quality raw materials and straightforward sophisticated perfumery in seven luxurious bouquets. The XJ Vintage Casamorati Collection includes ‘Bouquet Ideale’, a warm and seductive scent composed of a beautiful powdery cashmere accord with touches of vanilla and papyrus and ‘Regio’, a sublime blend of fresh citrus and hand-picked lavender flowers.
New for this spring will be a Casamorati Bath Collection featuring body lotions, body creams, shower gels, hair perfumes and scented candles. The collection will be based on Fiore D’Ulivo, Dama Bianca, Bouquet Ideale, Mesfisto and 1888.
“Perfume has always been a passion in my family,” says Sergio,“and then finally at the age of 40 I turned the passion into work.
“Our inspiration for ingredients comes from travelling the world. Research is the spirit and soul of the brand. 2015 will be a year full of new and exciting projects and exclusive collaborations.”
A relationship with the world’s best fragrance designers and developers at Grasse, built over 10 years, brings an exclusive blend of Italian craftsmanship and French fragrance sophistication to Xerjoff.
Working together, they continuously research new concepts based on nature and seek out the world’s finest raw materials for the exquisite elixirs.
Finally, I asked Sergio if he had a favourite amongst his fragrance collections: “Most probably the XJ17/17 collection, the very first one created by Xerjoff 10 years ago, which combines the old world of craftsmanship, rare raw materials and dedicated distillation technique with contemporary artistic sensibility.”
Xerjoff is now available from Fortnum & Mason and Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie, Harrods.
Xerjoff
www.xerjoff.com
Available from Fortnum & Mason and Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie, Harrods
