A boy, a tiny speck in the heart of the Big Apple, August 1993.
Act I, Scene IV
New York stinks. It stinks of cheap, strong tobacco and heavy exhaust fumes. The traffic jam is endless. It stinks of hot rubber and stale air. The people are bizarre. The fashionista in bright green stilettos orders a giant pretzel. It stinks of every kind of terrible fast food imaginable. Cinnamon and chips. Mustard and caramel. The cherry from the prostitute's blood-red lipstick blends with the strawberry from her chewing gum. The side streets are nothing but rubbish and urine. I make my way through a horde of bachelorettes waiting for the male strip show, a flood of tuberose and carnation. I have to go for a walk tonight. To get my crab cake and a burger. And I'll breathe in the miasma of the city until I get there. Oh, I love this city. How I love it. Those people were right after all.
Interpreted by Bruno Jovanovic
Alessandro and Riccardo's first encounter with the Big Apple is unforgettable. In the complex – and to a certain extent bizarre – scent landscape of Times Square, there are three elements that are far apart, explaining the irresistible fascination of this city within a city: the food sold by street vendors, where business people and tourists come together; the prostitutes with their vulgar perfume and shiny lipstick; the smell of tyres and asphalt, motor oil and exhaust fumes.
Alessandro and Riccardo love Manhattan, and although Times Square has changed (it is safer today than it used to be, but New York friends refer to it as ‘Disneyland’), it is still a must-see on every business trip to New York.
The nose chosen to interpret Times Square is Bruno Jovanovic, a superstar perfumer. The idea of working with Bruno came about a long time ago. As you know, Bruno worked with Laudamiel on the development of Fierce when he was still very young (in 2002, he was just 30). Whether you like Fierce or not, it was definitely a milestone in the fragrance industry – for better or worse. The way A&F flooded their stores (and Fifth Avenue) with Fierce became a case study in sensory (fragrance) marketing.
Could there have been a better nose to develop the fragrance landscape of Times Square? There was no budget limit for the creation of Times Square (as with every other Masque Milano creation) and the entire IFF staff was incredibly helpful. It was an extremely interesting and enriching experience to visit the facility and greenhouse in New Jersey, where IFF creates the steam room for flowers of the most exotic origins, as well as other raw materials. Various steam room analyses were carried out specifically to support the creation of this fragrance. The décor on the bottle was inspired by Art Deco patterns and represents the parallel streets (Broadway) and avenues of Manhattan.
