Fusing luxury and fashion-led aesthetics with their culturally artistic (and playfully disruptive) know-how, MCM fragrances embrace world-travellers wanting to explore their individuality.
Founded in 1976, the luxury lifestyle accessory and fashion house began with a bang – their distinctly different attitude already defined by their German heritage chiming with the cultural Zeitgeist. For MCM it was imperative to combine ‘functional innovation’ with their cutting-edge aesthetic, fusing cutting edge techniques with artisanal knowhow. Today, they tell us, ‘…through its association with music, art, travel, and technology, MCM embodies the bold, rebellious, and aspirational. Always with an eye on the disruptive, the driving force behind MCM centres on revolutionising classic design with futuristic materials.’ As you will learn, this revolutionary spirit most certainly carries through to the juices themselves. But just for a moment, let us take a closer look at the eye-catching flacons that house the fragrances.
Focusing on their iconic (instantly recognisable) ‘Stark’ backpacks, it seemed natural to use this emblem of quality and design as the inspiration for their utterly unique fragrance bottles. Indeed, we might as well as admit that when we first saw the bottles at a press launch – arrayed in their differing, perfectly modelled dinky sizes, so exactly like miniatures of the famed accessories – we let out a little squeal of delight. These are objects to treasure and carry with you – which will elicit compliments and envious queries wherever you carry them; just like the original bags themselves. Explaining their ethos, and how they appeal to ‘…the 21st Century Global Nomad generation – dreamers, creatives, and digital natives’ MCM say their fans are ‘genderless, ageless, empowered and unconstrained by rules and boundaries.’ With huge worldwide success – MCM is currently distributed online and in 650 stores around the globe, including Munich, Berlin, Zurich, London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Middle East and more – this is a house that not only believes you should follow your dreams wherever they may take you: now, MCM encourage us to carry that spirit of freedom wherever we go, and follow our noses… and do good while smelling great, too.
MCM ULTRA’s vegan formula, created by legendary ‘nose’ Frank Voelkl, for example, was created with an emphasis on ‘green chemistry’ principles – 74% of the ingredients being fully biodegradable and furthermore, containing 79% responsibly sourced Naturals Together™ ingredients ‘…that make a positive social impact to local communities all over the world.’ A huge point of perfumed difference is the key ingredients included in the formulation. So, within ULTRA you will discover: ‘Pink Pepper – Extracted using one of the industry’s most advanced and sustainable extraction technologies, to preserve the natural, spicy freshness of the olfactive profile. Tuberose – A special co-extraction of natural and synthetic tuberose elements creates the hyper-fresh floralcy in the fragrance. Cedarwood – Sustainably collected in partnership with local farmers, it lends the fragrance its dynamic woody facet.’
For the OG MCM Eau de Parfum fragrance, which they describe as being ‘Propelled by the winds of wanderlust,’ a photorealistic raspberry note flows to fresh jasmine, warm amber and pared-back, textured woods in the base. And once again, those ingredients are sustainably sourced. Within the more masculine-leaning ONYX, meanwhile, again features sustainably sourced vegan ingredients from across the globe. Simmering somewhere between refreshingly cool and sizzling spices, there’s Nigerian ginger and grapefruit punctuated by pink pepper, French lavender atop shady violet leaf, and Haitian vetiver swathed by a hug of almond-like tonka.
Whichever way you wander within the world of MCM, you’re bound to find fragrances that will ultimately become the scented accessory to your soul – a fragrant backdrop to your life that – like the iconic backpacks – dares you to have adventures and follow your heart. How wonderful that the scents can now offer us that same freedom every single time we spritz. Now we ask – which fragrance will capture your imagination, first, and where will it take you…?
