Tom Ford Black - Orchid Fragrance

It was 10 years ago, in a swanky star-studded event at the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock observatory, that Tom Ford launched his signature fragrance, Tom Ford Black Orchid.

The orchid is a flower Ford loves with a passion, for its elegance and sophistication: “To me, it is the perfect flower.”

What Black Orchid did was to capture the “headspace” of the rare bloom – the scent molecules in the air around this flower were analysed and then recreated – in a heady, sensual parfum in an inky black Lalique bottle redolent of old glamour. A fragrance for women, this dark floral and spicy chypre found its way onto men’s skin easily and quickly as well.

“To me it is the perfect flower… Luxurious, elegant, pure and sophisticated.”
– Tom Ford

On 3 August 2016, Tom Ford Beauty brought select VIP customer and global press through a one-day-only private installation in Christie’s Auction House in Rockefeller Centre – a 360-degree sensorial exploration of the Black Orchid fragrance, and the international unveiling of the new Tom Ford Orchid Collection.

We wandered through a sensual gallery of displays that activated more than just the sense of smell. Comprising three rooms, the exhibition started with a black corridor that opened into a large blank room, like a canvas waiting for the artist.

After a short introduction, the wall lights up with the beautifully sensual work (extract of this film shown in the video above) of multimedia artist Steven Sebring – a sensuous mirage of the elusive black orchid projected on the wall in a monotone of black and white, with a slight hint of the color red. Blood red. Like the human heart, the orchid is delicate and yet strong. It moves about the wall as if trying to hide itself from us. The appearance is almost like that of smoke or fog.



Moving on to the next room, we were presented with the complete breakdown of the scents, starting with the black orchid headspace, the heart of the fragrance that is so beautifully floral and yet spicy. Next are the three accords: Invitation, Temptation and Seduction. Like notes on a musicians score, each one stands alone, piercing the darkness with its sounds, but only truly materialising when played together. That is where the final essence emerges, like the inflorescence.



The final room engages our sense of touch. Probably the most intimate of the senses, it is often the last one we experience. Within this room, we interact with Tom Ford’s history of the Black Orchid fragrance. With a large table that looks straight out of a Star Trek movie, was a giant interactive display that allowed us to drag and drop different key points about the perfume. Navigating through the years you get a visual diary of the progression of the olfaction since its inception in 2006.







The Tom Ford Orchid Collection features Tom Ford Black Orchid EDP and EDT, the Perfume Lalique Edition, Hydrating Emulsion, Perfume Atomiser set, Solid Perfume, Nightbloom Powder and Lip Colour, as well as selected Velvet Orchid editions.

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