Costume Party

It’s known for sleek silhouettes and sensual fabrics. Now, Costume National’s fragrances are here for the first time. Creative director Ennio Capasa tells Natasha Chiam what to expect.

When Ennio Capasa creative director of Costume National set out to create his first scent, he wanted to create an olfactory interpretation of the brand’s aesthetic: understated and unique smells that don’t bombard you with notes. This is captured in his Scent Trilogy, launched internationally in 2002. Today, there are seven, all of which arrived here in November. Why he created them: “I wanted to let people sense the Costume National essence,” he says.

The essence in question? Understated sensuality, and consistency. Founded in 1986, the Italian fashion label only hit the big time in 1997, when Capasa was invited to show his men’s collection in Florence. The New York Times’ former style editor Amy Spindler said he “inspired and revolutionised ’90s fashion as much as Giorgio Armani did in the ’80s”. What people loved: the clean lines, precise cuts and sculptural yet sensual shapes, and the way each collection simply honed the aesthetic of the last, rather than reinventing it.

There have been hundreds of designer brands feted and ignored since then, but Costume National has quietly continued to do what it does best. This is evident in every aspect of the perfumes as well, starting with the sculptural and sleek bottles. Each is a glass replica of a model that fine arts graduate Capasa handmade from clay. He now works with perfumer Dominique Ropion, but created the first juice with the late Laurent Bruyere, who passed away in 2008 and was the nose behind Thierry Mugler’s Alien and Cacharel’s Amor Amor. “We had a great mutual connection; he understood immediately what I wanted,” says Capasa of Bruyere. And that’s what runs through the remainder of the range including the latest scent, this year’s Pop Collection. They all strike that hard-to-find balance: off-beat but not weird; wearable, but not commercial; and minimal, but not boring. How: by blending the normal (floral and citrus) with the unusual (milk and cardamom).

Of the seven scents in his fragrance inventory, one is for men and the rest are unisex, though Capasa says: “In the end, there are no perfumes for men or women – just the ones you like to wear.” Our favourite: 21, which commemorates the brand’s 21st anniversary in 2007. “It symbolised the age of maturity to me, from a professional point of view,” explains Capasa.

Costume National fragrances are at all Sephora outlets except the one in Great World City.

Ennio Capasa, 51

21 EDP ($89-$179) is strong and memorable because it has a creamy milky base spiced with saffron, citron and orange blossom. The citrus notes fade to leave a woody mix of cedar, amber and vanilla.

The most recent Pop Collection ($149 each) is easy to like: a fresh, youthful fruity floral that smells of pink grapefruit, raspberries and blackberries. There’s one juice, but four different colours for the bottles.

Each of the three fragrances in Scent Trilogy has the same notes – jasmine tea, amber, and hibiscus flower – but with the emphasis on a different one. Scent Sheer Eau Fraiche ($85-$119) plays up the first, Scent Intense EDP ($95-$189), the second, and Scent EDP ($85-$155), the third.

Costume National Homme EDP ($115-$149) is a spicy yet cool, woody mix of grapefruit, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

Capasa thinks of Scent Gloss EDP ($79-$145) as a late addition to the Trilogy, though it doesn’t have the signature notes. Instead, there’s purple orchid, musk and rose. It’s surprisingly pure and fresh, like smelling a rose.

PRODUCT PHOTOS TAN WEI TE