The Ancient Egyptians are often credited as the first civilisation to embrace perfume, leading the way of the East‘s sacred relationship with scent. Traditionally used for religious and ritualistic purposes, as well as personal grooming and medicinally, fragrances were always genderless.
Eastern societies were skilled in the use of aromatic materials like frankincense, myrrh, and spices, which were brought to the West through the Silk Road, the Mediterranean trade, and during the Crusades. The majestical ways of distillation and perfumery techniques, preserved and advanced by the Eastern and Islamic worlds, influenced and led Europe profoundly.
Initially perfumes in the West were also used for religious rituals and medicinal purposes, but during the Renaissance, they became symbols of luxury, notably in Italy and France. By the 18th century, France was regarded as the perfume capital, with scents becoming an integral part of aristocratic life.
As synthetic molecules were introduced into the world of fragrance during the 19th century, so were gender distinctions thanks to the boom of marketing, leading to the global, multifaceted industry we know today. Marketing angles imposed that feminine fragrances were floral, and masculine fragrances had aromatic notes of cleanliness or wood. Fragrance very much became ‘for him and ‘for her’ amplified by the emergence of fashion brands in the Western world.
The launch of Calvin Kleins ‘CK One’ in 1994 is often regarded as the first ‘unisex fragrance’ to hit the market of that time; an irreversible milestone celebrating a new era of genderless fragrance that resonated deeply with a generation, one that would continue to have huge reach globally for years.
As the Western world continues to catch up with ancient Eastern practices, it feels like we are only just beginning to see the world of scent return to the magic and power that fragrance holds, free of rules and constraints. A return to simplicity, honouring fragrance as a universal connection and experience.