Featured image for Maison Martin Margiela's Replica Collection

Maison Martin Margiela's Replica Collection

by Tiffanie Pfrang on 12/20/2013 | 3 Minute Read

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Maison Martin Margiela's Replica Collection was designed to awake your olfactory memories. The three fragrances instantly evoke positive emotions that reflect our personal memories as much as our collective subconscious. Composed by the Firmenich Master Perfumer, Jacques Cavallier, along with Marie Salamagne, each Replica fragrance captures a specific olfactory moment, recalling memories that we all share.

“Each of the three fragrances is based on a desire to reinvent a scent that everyone knows, while giving it something new, unique and very modern. I don’t like the notion of nostalgia. I prefer the idea of rediscovering those scents that have become a part of us all.”

- Jacques Cavallier

With a silhouette inspired by classical apothecary jars, the bottle used for the three fragrances fits perfectly within the codes of Maison Martin Margiela. A cotton label, resembling the tags used on clothing and accessories for the Replica capsule collection, identifies each fragrance. The same label concept is carried onto the packaging. Here, the label is associated with a photograph, a fleeting moment captured in muted colors and soft light, and a poetic allusion to the story behind each fragrance.

 

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“Replica is an expression of our continual reflection on the garment and more broadly, our creative process. In this case, it’s defined by the idea of timelessness: a garment from the past can still be modern today and even tomorrow. It is this concept that we wanted to translate into fragrances, remembering the scents of our collective memory.”

- Maison Martin Margiela

“Funfair Evening” Santa Monica, 1994

In the warm night air, laughter and playful melodies sound. Flashes of multicolored neon reign vibrant and explosive. The smell of candy fills the air.

From the first breath, the ambiance of the funfair comes to mind. The soft and enveloping fragrance of sweets: notes of apple and star anise join to reveal a marshmallow accord created with caramel and orange blossom. “So that they can be enjoyed without becoming overwhelming, sweeter notes need contrasts”, explains Jacques Cavallier. “Here, it is the musky and amber notes, as well as bittersweet petitgrain that give relief.”

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“Beach Walk” Calvi, 1972

A stroll along the ocean with feet sinking into the sand, waves brushing the skin and the sun at its zenith radiating the beach… “Beach Walk” evokes the memory of a summer day.

Fresh as the spray of the ocean, bergamot, lemon and pink pepper are instantly fused. Radiant and sensual ylang ylang follows, illuminating the addictive scents of coconut milk, musk and heliotrope. “Once united, these three notes create an accord with an almost maternal softness”, says Jacques Cavallier.

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“Flower Market” Paris, 2011

Freshly cut flowers, wet petals, buckets and vases brimming with water, leaves crushed on the floor, a multitude of floral compositions… Maison Martin Margiela captures the delicate fragrance of the flower market.

The green freshness of just-cut stems echoes the sensuality of the floral accord. Transparent notes of freesia and Grasse rose petals dotted with water, are enveloped by creamier notes of Sambac jasmine and tuberose. “It is a bouquet of textures”, explains Jacques Cavallier. “A harmony where no flower overpowers another and beneath which one detects a touch of cedar and moss.” Like a walk through a flower market, nature is at once raw and refined.

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