The next time you fly to London, try hunting down Dover Street Market near Piccadilly. At first sight, you might mistake Comme des Garçon’s utilitarian-looking, multi-brand store for a fly-by-night operation – much in the style of the brand’s temporary guerilla shops. “I want to create a kind of market where various creators from various fields gather together and encounter each other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos: the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision”, explains Rei Kawakubo, CdG’s designer.
But there’s nothing chaotic about Dover Street Market, the scent launched in honor of the shop: it is all Comme des Garçons. In fact, it is the epitome of Comme des Garçons’s trademark, transparent, resolutely non-floral woody-spicy blends.
With its dark, forest-y wafts of pine, cedar and incense, Dover Street Market is austere and meditative in the manner of Monocle Hinoki or Zagorsk, from the Incense series. The twist, here, is brought on by a bright splash of citrus that pulls Dover Street Market towards a fresh eau de cologne feel, in a chypre-like, bergamot-labdanum setting. Juniper bridges the gap between the pine and pepper notes; coriander adds its citrusy, aromatic facets. Though conceived for men and women, the scent may tip over a bit into masculine territory. Which won’t deter the women who love the brand called “Like Boys”. - bergamot,
- mandarin,
- black pepper,
- coriander,
- incense,
- juniper berries,
- cedar,
- patchouli,
- pine,
- cistus labdanum
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