From Eau del Cologne to Made in Italy
The eighteenth century heralded an increase in the taste for personal hygiene that led to the creation of two new domestic spaces: the toilet and the bathroom.
It also heralded a new olfactory awareness that took the form of a return to the fresh odours of the fields and the natural aromas of sophisticated, flowery preparations. At the end of that same century, the Migone & C. House of Perfume, Soaps and Toiletry Articles opened in Milan: achieving international renown, it was to remain in business until 1950.
The trend towards hygiene grew stronger in the nineteenth century, reflecting the habits and customs of the newly rising middle classes. In the second half of the century, the development of chemistry enabled perfume to shift away from its natural origins and venture out to discover synthetic molecules.
In that period, simple craftsmanship, often conducted in the rear of the barber’s workshop, was transformed into Perfume Houses whose influence was felt all over Italy and also abroad: Saccò & Borsari, which evolved into Borsari of Parma, Satinine in Milan and Puglisi & Mannara in Palermo.
The Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900 sanctioned perfume’s success on the grand scale for the first time, heralding the advent of modern perfumery that treated perfume as an original and sometimes artistic creation, based on contrast and complexity rather than harmony, a veritable olfactory revolution. For the great fashion creatives, this was the sign that launched them into the great adventure of creating original, signed perfumes.
In Italy, designers’ talents found fertile terrain for growing and consolidating, as they developed into ambassadors of Italian taste worldwide. This is the trend that has inspired perfume entrepreneurs to set out successfully along the road of “perfume Made in Italy”, a synonym of style and elegance.
