Forget Paris, there’s a new heady scent on the block which is bringing increased levels of sophistication to the world of perfume. Deco London is a recently formed perfume house, which is using the roaring twenties to provide artistic momentum for a series of sophisticated new scents.

Inspired by young bohemian aristocrats and socialites, who populated London in the 20s, Deco London perfectly captures the elegance and glamour of the era with six unique Eau de Parfums, three for women and three for men.

Each of the scents has been carefully developed from extensive research into the perfumes of the era, reflecting both their heady opulence and the more contemporary feel of today. Florals are at the heart of collection, combined with either woody, spicy or oriental notes, along with citrus, musk and amber scatterings. We caught up with Sophia Hannon-Howell to find out more.

LM: What is the difference between your perfume and the mass-produced ‘designer’ scents you can buy at the airport?
SFH: The main difference is that Deco London perfumes are not mass-produced and therefore more exclusive. Our perfumes contain a high proportion of quality natural ingredients, which we can trace to source and a lot of imagination and creativity has gone into our fragrances and brand.

It is simply not true to say that mass-produced means bad. There are many exquisite mass produced fragrances that are beautiful and of a high quality and many that are considered classics. However, it is easy for a designer brand to sell a perfume based on its brand name alone or because it’s using a popular model in its adverts. Sometimes the thought behind the fragrance and its quality comes in a poor second.

LM: How did you get into fragrance?
SFH: I’ve always been drawn to fragrance, but my journey really began when I became interested in essential oils, aromatherapy and perfumery back in 2004, when I began creating fragrances for skincare products. I had a vision to create a brand to share my love of history and bring the elegance and glamour of times past to a modern audience. Using the medium of fragrance seemed the perfect way to do this and so the idea for Deco was born.

LM: Which perfumer did you work with to create your fragrances?
SFH: I worked with Robertet as they create perfumes for some of the biggest brands in the world and have a UK office near to London. Robertet were founded in 1850, so have a long history, which fitted very nicely with the Deco London brand. They are also the world leader in natural, sustainable and organic ingredients and the only company to fully integrate every stage in the creative process “from Seed to Scent”. This really appealed to me as I have a particular interest in naturals.

Robertet were really excited by my brief for the Deco London perfumes as it’s not every day they get to create classically inspired scents.

LM: What is your own favourite scent?
SFH: I enjoy wearing lots of different fragrances, but I am a vintage Guerlain girl at heart. I love to wear many of their fragrances including L’Heure Bleue, Vol de Nuit and Mitsouko. There is something about that slightly old fusty scent that I love. I also adore vintage Chanel No 5, but not the modern version.

LM: Why did you decide to produce a series of scents evoking the 1920s?
SFH: I love vintage scents and I love history. British history is so rich and for me historical periods and characters are vivid in my imagination. The personalities of 1920s London were larger than life, glamorous, hedonistic, tragic and elegant, coming to terms with a new changing world following World War I. I wanted to capture those characters in the fragrances I created and introduce my audience to their history.

LM: Was this a special era for scent?
SFH: Yes, the 1920s was a time of great advancements in perfumery when many classic perfumes were created and when and modern perfume families such as chyprés, leathers and oriental fragrances were defined. Some of the great fragrance houses were either formed or achieved greatness during this decade.

LM: Who do you think these perfumes will appeal to most?
SFH: Deco London perfumes will appeal to men and women, who like to be unique, wear elegant and sophisticated scents and that appreciate high-quality ingredients.

Our perfumes will also appeal to those who like our brand identity and value products that are made in Britain and that.

LM: What about the design of the bottles? Did that take a while to create?
SFH: It took over two years to design the packaging and I worked with the best French glassmakers and an extremely talented graphic designer. The glass bottles are heavy with a simple elegance and the cabochons (lids) are solid glass.

I wanted to achieve understated elegance that reflected the Art Deco inspiration behind the brand and our core values.

LM: Do you plan to produce other kinds of 1920s inspired beauty products?
SFH: Yes, we plan to bring out matching fragranced body and bath products for our most popular fragrances in the next couple of years using quality natural ingredients

Deco London – Where and How?

To find out more about Deco London, visit www.deco-london.com.