How Patti Smith and PJ Harvey inspired Anja Rubik

Anja Rubik is a pro at looking good – you only need to look at her long list of campaigns and shows, including Marc Jacobs and Gucci – to know that. But did you know that she is also a Polish music video star in her homeland and now, a perfumier? And one with pretty unusual references, to boot. At the launch of her new fragrance Original by Anja Rubik, she bigged up her love for Patti Smith and Debbie Harry and explained how the female rock gods (and Robert Mapplethorpe) inspired the scent.

"When I was building a mood board for the fragrance there was actually a lot of Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and a lot of Mapplethorpe’s photography," the Polish supermodel told Dazed. "Patti is a huge girl power icon, Debbie as well. I mean, you know they really went for their own vision; they were breaking a lot of rules. They were doing things that were representing them – they never sold out, which is beautiful."

She added: "I really wanted to create fragrance that represents me and my vision of beauty. I decided to do the whole fragrance in the aesthetics of black and white because I find it incredibly timeless. The way [Mapplethorpe] photographed flowers, especially lillies... symbolically it’s very erotic."

Hence, she explained, the top note of lillies, put in place in memory of Mapplethorpe. But Rubik has designs way beyond your pulse points and post-shower routine – she is also trying to appeal to a higher cause. "The whole idea was that it’s not only a beautiful fragrance, but also connects with a visual statement that is all about empowerment in women. The idea is there is the message that you get with the bottle and, then you connect the smell with the message and then later on, when you smell it on yourself, on your clothes, it triggers that emotion."

An emotion of being one of the top-paid models in the game? We're into that. But until you turn into a leggy 5"9' supermodel, you can watch Rubik in one of the best Polish music videos you'll see all year.

Check out "Chleb" below. Original by Anja Rubik is available at Liberty.