One fragrance to rule them all: Why Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb is still a bestseller

FRAGRANCE is one of the biggest sellers at Christmas, clocking up 40 per cent of annual sales in November and December. But there is one fragrance that continues to outsell all.

LOOKING for a last-minute stocking filler? Then you can’t go past perfume. Fragrance is one of the biggest sellers at Christmas, clocking up 40 per cent of annual sales in November and December. But there is one fragrance that continues to outsell all.

Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb ranks among the world’s top feminine fragrances and consistently sits at number three in Australia among a highly competitive 300-strong fragrance portfolio in national department stores.

Flowerbomb was the debut fragrance of Dutch designers, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, and is celebrating its 10th anniversary, which kicked off with a huge party in Paris.

Horsting and Snoeren met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Academy or Art and Design in The Netherlands and began working together after their graduation in 1993.

Though well known in fashion circles, it is their best-selling perfume that has made them global household names.

“When we started working together, we had many dreams, many wishes,” Horsting says, speaking to Insider at the newly reopened The Peninsula Paris.

“One of them was to make an iconic fragrance.

“Even when we were starting out we were also thinking about all aspects of fashion — not only fashion collections but also fragrance and beauty.

“So for us, making Flowerbomb, together with L’Oreal, was a dream come true.”

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren pose on the runway during the Viktor & Rolf show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015/2016. Picture: Getty

While their roots might be based in couture, Horsting and Snoeren have also produced ready-to wear collections and collaborated with Swedish fast fashion chain H & M.

However, earlier this year they decided to eschew ready-to-wear, deciding instead to focus on their couture business.

“What makes us happy is to be artistic, not to be a victim of a system that has so many deadlines,” Horsting says.

“We didn’t really enjoy working like that. Our strength is in storytelling, which for us is couture and fragrance.”

Their unique way of working — combining their artistic talent with extraordinary craftsmanship — was again on display at the Palais de Tokyo during Paris Haute Couture FashionWeek earlier this year.

Viktor Horsting dresses a model with Rolf Snoeren as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015/2016. Picture: Getty

Their collection, appropriately named Wearable Art, was edged with “hinged gold picture frames” which, incredibly, were also made from fabric. The two appeared on stage as “performance artists”, undressed the models, transforming their designs from outfits into artworks and hanging them on a “gallery” wall.

It is this same exacting standard that they applied when creating their best-selling fragrance more than 10 years ago.

Flowerbomb took three years from concept to fruition to make — twice the norm.

“When we started working on Flowerbomb we did exactly what we wanted to do,” Snoeren says.

“We wanted to have an explosion of flowers. So hence the name, Flowerbomb.

“The name itself is so evocative that that became the starting point,” Horsting adds.

“It took a long time to come up with the ‘juice’ but the whole project took time; working on a perfume is such a different time frame than fashion.”

“Things can be quite complex and at the same time, be very romantic and aggressive,” Snoeren says.

It is this concept of opposites that underliesthe fragrance: the romantic sweet scent housed in the aggressive grenade-shaped bottle. Even the launch in 2005, saw models dressed head to toe in black on a dark and sombre runway before bright and colourful confetti “cannons” exploded a virtual flower bomb.

Tasked with the enviable job to create the perfume were master perfumers Carlos Benaim, Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier who were contracted by L’Oreal to make the fragrance for Viktor & Rolf.

“To create a designer fragrance you first need to understand who the designers are; and the way Viktor and Rolf work is so conceptual,” Benaim explains.

“The idea of an ‘explosion of flowers’ is a concept so we set about creating a perfume with that sort of view.

“We started with a clear idea of key notes and flowery bouquets — freesia, jasmine, peony and rose — and a bit of addictiveness (amber and patchouli) to enhance and push all the flowers to create the balance,” master perfumer Benaim says.

However, with Benaim based in New York and the rest of the perfume team in Paris, the whole process was rather challenging.

“I would transmit my formulations to Paris — I can even transmit to a robot to compound them instantly,” the master perfumer says.

While hundreds of remakes were made, Benaim says, “it’s not about the launch date.

“It’s about ‘hitting your mark’, getting the formulation right, no matter how long it takes.”

“The process starts with one person with one idea, and that idea starts to take shape. It was a real evolution. And in three years it really evolved!”

A model walks the runway during the Viktor & Rolf show as part of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015/2016. Picture: Getty

The same team also collaborated on the special editions of Flowerbomb “stretching or pushing the perfume ... adding a little more or a little less of one ingredient,” Benaim adds.

“Viktor and Rolf’s couture show this year was the deconstruction of a piece of art. The special editions are our ‘deconstruction’ of the original perfume.”

Viktor and Rolf made it clear from the outset that they weren’t looking for an unusual, edgy scent in keeping with their design aesthetic. Instead, they have succeeded in creating a commercial, easy-to-wear perfume.

“Flowerbomb is loved by women the world over who probably have never heard of the Viktor & Rolf clothing label,” says Christine Burke, corporate communications manager of L’Oreal. “It continues to be a bestseller with a very loyal following.”

But did Horsting and Snoeren ever think it would be so successful?

“We wished upon a star,
and today Flowerbomb is entering its second decade,” Horsting says.

“It’s very rewarding that our creation has continued to be in the world for so long and is such a success.”

Flowerbomb is available from David Jones and Myer. Anne-Maree Gale flew to Paris as a guest of L’oreal.