BRUTAL FRAGRANCE

Behind the name and the scent of Pigmentarium’s latest creation, Brutal, lies an admiration for the visual style of the seventies and eighties. The fragrance captures the emotional spirit of an era defined by its grand aesthetic. We drew inspiration from a time when new technologies enabled a magnificent expansion of art and lifestyle, shaping a visual language of the “future” that still resonates today. An age of pop art and power shoulders, elegant soirées and cigarette smoke, a fascination with luxury materials — a time vibrating with the awareness of entirely new possibilities.

Seen from Prague, this era was framed by the city’s iconic brutalist architecture — landmarks that became the stage for urban social life. The New Stage of the National Theatre, the restaurants and bars of the Intercontinental Hotel. Works of world-class architects adorned with glass, textile, and stone artworks by leading Czech artists, many of them truly without parallel. The name Brutal emerged early in creative conversations with the perfume’s author, Théo Belmas, during discussions on brutalism and the defining trends of these two remarkable decades.

How did that era smell? Of white flowers with an almost narcotic allure. Of perfect black coffee during a business meeting. Of the chalky paper on which glossy magazines delivered the world of fashion and style. Of the warm, seductive scent of tobacco. A blend of femininity with unapologetic confidence and masculine poise.

All these accords were captured in a fragrance that is bold, dynamic, and undeniably sensual. Brutal opens with a dark, indulgent Negroni accord, evolving into notes of black coffee and orange blossom. At its heart lies tuberose — the key ingredient — intertwined with ylang-ylang and May rose. These melt seamlessly into a base of tobacco, amber, and sandalwood.

The visual form of the fragrance was shaped through a photographic series by Pigmentarium’s long-time collaborator, Hana Knížová. The collection was created in one of Prague’s most artistically valuable interiors of the 1980s — two opulent salons of the former Palace of Culture. The stylised work of Hana Knížová pays tribute to the atmosphere of the late twentieth century through clear visual references. The iconic women’s tuxedo, the emphasis on perfect hair, velvet make-up, and bold accessories carry the same strength and sex appeal today as they did then. Against the backdrop of warm brown wood tones, the harmonious tapestries by Josef Müller, and the magnificent chandelier by František Vízner, the imagery transports us to a time whose aesthetic never looked back — but rather, confidently reached for the future. That is why it hasn’t aged a single day.

TOP NOTES: orange blossom, negroni accord, black coffee accord
MIDDLE NOTES: tuberose, ylang-ylang, rose de may
BASE NOTES: tobacco bourbon DeLaire, amber, sandalwood

photo Hana Knížová; video Viktoryia Vaitusionak; model Paulina Liskova / Clique models;
muah Eliška Matějková; styling Daniela Pilná & Alexandra Gnidiak