Books are an intellectual pastime that capture the mind and ignite the imagination; however, they seem to be going the way of cassette tapes and floppy discs as people are discarding books in favour of newer technology -- preserve your passion with Paper Passion. Wallpaper magazine and Gerhard Steidl, founding owner of Steidl publishing and print designer for several fashion houses including Chanel, have commissioned perfumer Geza Schoen to create Paper Passion, a perfume based on the scent of books.
The perfume’s unique packaging, designed by Karl Lagerfeld and Steidl, consists of a book that opens to reveal a cutout in the pages and the classically shaped perfume bottle nestled within. It is as though the fragrance is a well-kept secret that only reveals itself to those in the know, sparking the imagination and revitalizing an appreciation for words on paper.
Paper-Scented Perfumes
The Paper Passion Eau de Parfum is for Hardcore Literature Lovers
Trend Themes
1. Book-inspired Scents - Opportunities exist to develop perfumes that capture the scent of other printed materials, such as newspapers and magazines.
2. Sensory-based Nostalgia - Businesses can innovate by creating products that evoke specific memories and emotions through scent, such as the smell of old books.
3. Collaborative Packaging - The partnership between Wallpaper Magazine, Gerhard Steidl, and Karl Lagerfeld shows there is potential for combining unique design elements in packaging, such as incorporating the essence of a product into its packaging design.
Industry Implications
1. Fragrance - Fragrance companies can develop unique scents that cater to niche markets interested in book-inspired or other nostalgic scents.
2. Publishing - Publishers can collaborate with fragrance companies to create branded scents based on the content and themes of their books, which would provide added value and generate revenue.
3. Retail - Retailers can capitalize on the trend of sensory-based nostalgia by offering products that appeal to customers' senses, such as book-scented candles or room sprays.