I've been thinking a lot about the nose recently after reading Avery Gilbert's "What the Nose Knows" which is a fascinating look at scent from a scientific point of view. He talks about how the nose gets accustomed to certain scents and basically stops smelling them (which explains how people can work in some pretty smelly places and not go completely nuts). All the more reason then to sample the endless amount of perfumes in the world. The International Herald Tribune recently had an interesting piece on bespoke fragrance in Paris. Bespoke fragrances have a variety of price points but to get the attention of a classically-trained nose you will have to pay couture prices. At the top of the line we find Cartier. At Cartier in Paris, Mathilde Laurent is the in-house "nose" creating "made-to-measure" scents. For custom designs Cartier sells a set of two Baccarat flasks of five fluid ounces, three small spray bottles and two refill bottles, enough for three to five years for $75,500.

Small perfume company, l'Artisan Parfumeur is planning to introduce in January a line of single-edition perfumes. Only one bottle of each will be made and sold through the Paris store. Bertrand Duchaufour is the nose behind the Mon Numéro line which will be sold in one-off bottles designed by Pascale Riberolles, an artist and master glass blower and sell for about $20,000.

But the person in the article I'd most like to sniff out just might be Francis Kurkdjian, who doesn't work out of a boutique but has a website and a mobile laboratory which he travels around the world with to meet clients. He has worked on fragrances for Kenzo, Armani, Yves St. Laurent and others and has the type of obsessively passionate devotion to scent that is a hallmark of the best noses. Kurkdjian's bespoke scents are conceived, blended and matured over 6 to 10 months, and priced at $10,000 for two 60-milliliter flasks which are hand-engraved with a name or personal message.

The seemingly endless gloomy news about the economy got us thinking about the financial crisis' effect on Savile Row, the home of luxury bespoke tailoring. As my colleague Deirdre Woolard reported last month, Hardy Amies, which opened on Savile Row in 1946, is facing bankruptcy. Of course, Amies' ambitious expansion plans are partly to blame. We asked Anda Rowland, owner of Anderson & Sheppard, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, what the outlook is for the Row's traditional tailoring firms.

"We are still getting new customers and many enquiries, but it has to be said that London is not really in the mood to spend and people are traveling [to London] less," Rowland tells Luxist. "Luckily, despite the turn away from 'bling' spending, there has been a renewed interest in goods that have an underlying value, which is perceived as more solid and easier to understand and to explain to the customer. There is a shift from the 'Because I'm worth it' attitude towards one questioning 'Was it worth it?'"

Rowland notes that this "will be hard for the mass-luxury goods and the over-hyped but extremely lucrative 'it-bag' industry, but good for individual, high-craft items made by skilled hands," such as Savile Row suits. "We also have ethical trends in our favor as everyone faces up to the enormous piles of barely worn 'fast fashion' garments in landfill sites all over Europe at a time when many are losing the roofs over their heads." Due to this, Rowland says, "We have not seen a reduction in sales or customer figures from last year," merely "a recent slowing of momentum."



Asked about the influx of money from emerging markets, "Speaking for Anderson & Sheppard, we have not seen a growth in customers from Russia or from the UAE," she replies. "We have had more press interest, but it has not filtered through to visits yet. China and India are growing markets [for us] due, perhaps, to a historical familiarity with the history and tradition of Savile Row." As for the future, "I have heard from the other tailors that they believe that their trips abroad will be more and more important over the next couple of years," Rowland says. "They feel that customers will be traveling far less and that overseas service will help them to keep the workshops busy and running efficiently."

Summing up, Rowland, who inherited the business a few years back from her father, is optimistic. "As a relative newcomer to this industry where most houses are at least 100 years old, I am reassured by the reaction of most tailors who say that their firms have seen it all several times before," she tells us. "I can imagine that for many of the big designer brands that are much younger, it is harder to be as quietly confident as we are on Savile Row."

There's quite a row on Savile Row over the UK Advertising Standards Authority's brand new ruling that suits which are not entirely handmade may now be sold as "bespoke." It has horrified some Savile Row stalwarts who've long fought to protect their trade from such encroachments; late last year tailor's guild the Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) trademarked the term "Savile Row Bespoke" to prevent parvenus from taking unfair advantage. According to the SRBA's guidelines, to qualify as bespoke a suit must be crafted from a choice of at least 2,000 fabrics and its construction requires at least 50 hours of hand-stitching.

However, SRBA board member Anda Rowland, owner of storied 100-year-old Row house Anderson & Sheppard, tells Luxist she is taking the philosophical view. While lamenting the ruling's implied lack of respect for Britain's tailoring trade, to her way of thinking a fellow who would be content with a faux-Row suit merely made-to-measure was "never a true bespoke customer in the first place" she tells us, while any connoisseur "will ultimately be able to spot the difference between true bespoke tailoring and incorrectly labeled imitations." In the meantime, made-to-measure garments, no matter what they're sold as, can continue to serve their proper purpose: "providing a bridge from ready-to-wear to bespoke."

For those seeking sartorial enlightenment, Rowland notes the SRBA has launched a website, savilerowbespoke.com, to help them on their path to proper tailoring. In addition, when Anderson & Sheppard moved into its new premises at 32 Old Burlington Street, Rowland says, "we opened up our workrooms especially to confront the confusion that potential customers might have over the increasing number of terms being used to describe made-to-measure... Since moving, we have been welcoming more and more first time customers who have done research through word of mouth, reputable press and the Internet and therefore have a very good idea of why they have come to us." No mere ruling no matter how barmy will change that.

Pictured above is Savile Row maverick Ozwald Boateng. See the gallery for more.

Brilliant British designer Sir Paul Smith recently celebrated an important milestone in his colorful career: the 10th anniversary of his incredible flagship store in London's Notting Hill, Westbourne House. The perfect realization of a long term dream of Sir Paul's, the shop is designed to feel like someone's tastefully, quirkily lavish London home, and features a unique range of men's and women's clothes and accessories, housewares and knickknacks alongside a cllection of jewellery, books, art and antiques.

The architecturally-significant establishment is also the center of his exclusive bespoke tailoring operation. Smith says he still gets a thrill every time he walks in the door. To commemorate the anniversary, Smith and friends like shoe maestro Manolo Blahnik have created of limited edition products, available exclusively at Westbourne House, including watercolors, hand-painted plates, jewelry and a retro radio.

Smith, whose known for his signature multicolored stripes, opened his first clothing shop in 1970 and showed his first menswear collection under the Paul Smith label in 1976. Today Westbourne House is one of 14 Paul Smith shops in England; there are also outlets in Paris, Milan, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and others, as well as dozens in Japan, where Sir Paul is something of a cult figure. Today he has 12 different collections including Paul Smith, Paul Smith Women, Paul Smith Jeans, Paul Smith London, Paul Smith Bespoke, Paul Smith Shoes, Paul Smith Fragrance and Paul Smith Spectacles. The company's annual revenue as of 2006 exceeded $600 million.

The Bespoke Chocolates service from Sir Hans Sloane is about so much more than just customizing a box of chocolates by ordering how many you want each of different available flavors -- they actually mix and make personalized chocolates just for you. As in no two patrons have the same formula.

My mouth is watering already.

The process starts with a series of interviews, followed by a series of tastings, and finally ending in the delivery of 60 chocolates made by master chocolatier Bill McCarrick in a handmade rosewood-and-maple inlaid box. Also included is a copy of the chocolate tasting consultations and a backup box of an additional 60 chocolates. YUM. $2400.

Looking for the ultimate chocolate experience? Try the Bespoke Chocolate Service from Cocoa Locoa. The service starts with a personalized consultation that is designed to determine your exact taste and style preferences, both of which will be taken into account when the company's chocolate artisan makes a collection of chocolates custom-suited to your palate. The price for a package of four chocolates is $250, or $450 for a package of eight unique formulations. Be sure to take a look at the standard flavors that they offer, which include salted honey caramel, creme brulee, blood orange + grapefruit and Mayan spice, since if they already match your flavor preferences, you could save quite a bit by ordering the $18, 9-piece classic collection.

[via cool hunting]