Exclusive: Gosha Rubchinskiy discusses new perfume and book

Gosha Rubchinskiy’s universe just keeps on expanding. Already with a clothing line, several books and zines to his name, as well as a community of like-minded friends and collaborators, the creative multi-hyphenate is now releasing a fragrance, along with a new photography book to accompany it.

True to Rubchinskiy’s fiercely independent nature, he’s done it his own way, describing the scent as “more like an art project”. “It’s been my dream to do a perfume since I started working with Comme des Garçons,” he tells us. “And I feel that now is the perfect moment to have it. We really wanted to create something special, not just a nice commercial smell.” Comme, in case you didn’t know, has managed the production, sales and marketing of Rubchinskiy’s collections since 2012, and has reputation for being extremely innovative when it comes to the art of perfumery.

As with all of his projects, the fragrance was inspired by the world he loves and the people who inhabit it. “Summer, fresh, boy, city, skateboarding and holidays” were some of the words he uses to describe the scent which smells faintly of rubber and tar, recalling “wheels burning on the hot concrete sidewalk”.

But if you want a better idea of what the fragrance is about, then look at the book – titled Perfume Book – which features one of Rubchinskiy’s shaven-headed muses shot in Spain. “This summer I had a very nice weekend in Barcelona with my friend Louison. We were skating all day and traveled to a wild beach outside the city. I took some pictures there and decided to use them for the project. They perfectly suited my idea of the perfume so we decided to have a small book – Perfume Book.”

Following Transfiguration, Crimea / Kids, Youth Hotel and The Day of My Death released earlier this year, Perfume Book is Rubchinskiy’s fifth publication. Ultimately this stems from his love of print media and the fragrance was kind of an excuse to do a new one – “I am a fan of cool books and zines, things you can collect. Not only digital images for the web. The perfume was a good reason to do one more!”

The perfume and Perfume Book will be launched exclusively at Dover Street Market London with a book signing on from 5-7pm on Saturday 8th October, followed by DSMNY and DSMG at the beginning of November and all good stores around the world in January.

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