Parco Palladiano Perfumes by Bottega Veneta
If you take a stroll through the gardens that belong to the Palladian villas of the Veneto designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio in the 16th century and located in north-eastern Italy, it will become immediately clear why this bucolic setting is a constant source of inspiration for Tomas Maier. Earlier this year, in an effort to capture moments and experiences in a Palladian garden, the Creative Director of Bottega Veneta (which, incidentally, was founded in 1966 in Veneto) released a collection of unisex fragrances aptly named Parco Palladiano.
“Palladio is a source of endless inspiration for me in many ways,” says Maier. “My father was an architect who studied the work of Palladio, so his teachings have always been part of my life even before I started as creative director at Bottega Veneta. Palladio was an artisan as well as an architect who sought balance and harmony in everything. The Palladian gardens that inspire this Parco Palladiano collection represent a perfection on earth and an agricultural utopia.”
True to the Italian luxury house’s brand of quiet luxury, the six fragrances are simply numbered I, II, III, IV, V and VI – a move that is also a nod to the classical heritage of the Palladian villas. To create the scents, Maier sought the help of a trio of renowned perfumers: Michel Almairac (who created Bottega Veneta’s debut eponymous women’s fragrance), Daniela Andrier (who worked on the house’s first men’s fragrances, Pour Homme and Pour Homme Extrême) and Alexis Dadier.
“With the Parco Palladiano collection, they have created fragrances that extend and tell a new story about the Bottega Veneta world,” says Maier, who researched all the species that grow in the gardens in the region of Venice. “There are the different families of flower, woods, spices and fruit trees. Starting from there, the noses used these ingredients to come up with six scents, all very different and all quite beautiful.”
Each EDP (100ml) is priced at SGD390 and available at Bottega Veneta boutiques in ION Orchard and Marina Bay Sands. Here, a rundown by the perfumers of the six scents, so you know which one(s) to get for your loved one this festive season:
“For this scent, I immersed myself in that marvellous orderly world of the Venetian villas, creating a fragrance just as I experience the gardens,” says perfumer Michel Almairac. What do you smell? Magnolia.
“The cypress tree is emblematic of the Venetian landscape, its slender shape a link between Palladian architecture and nature. This scent has all the vitality of spring, very green and fresh,” says Alexis Dadier. What do you smell? Cypress leaves and pink pepper.
“It is an imaginary promenade where the seasons overlap like a labyrinth,” says Daniela Andrier, “and memories of gardens in bloom mingle with those of our childhood.” What do you smell? Pear and mint leaves.
“In the afternoon, the clouds of azaleas that cover the ground outside a Palladian villa are magical. I wanted to capture the sense of a garden in summer as the scent rises in the sunlight,” says Alexis Dadier. What do you smell? Azalea and velvet chestnut.
“My intention was to bring the elegance of these gardens to life, and also their imperfections, to render them even more romantic,” says Andrier. What do you smell? Laurel. rosemary and sage.
“The rose is the most elegant of flowers,” says Mylène Alran. “It is the most elegant, the most intense.” What do you smell? Rose, of course.
