“Imagine a tapestry woven with threads of scents and a gathering of souls from every corner of the world. Pitti Fragranze is not merely about perfumes. It's an artistic love affair with the essence of existence itself. And Florence, the city, is the backdrop, muse, and silent partner in this scented venture!”
-Filip Jungic, Fragrance reviewer @thewayofscent
Pitti Fragranze 2023, which took place September 15–17 in Florence Italy, marked the 21st edition of what began in 2003, not as a trade show, but as an exhibit of 56 fragrance brands dedicated to artistry and original thinking, taking place in a gracious Florentine garden. The number of brands grew steadily over the ensuing years, and in 2009 when there were over 160, Pitti Fragranze moved to its current location: the mythical Stazione Leopolda, which though not as airy and free as the Giardino Corsini garden, has managed its growing numbers with grace and strength.
Throughout the following decade, Pitti Fragranze maintained its solid and essential place in September each year, just prior to the end of year holiday season, while Esxence, the other European trade show for artistic niche fragrances, maintained its place in March, just prior to the spring-summer season. Starting around 2018, however, people, including this author, began listening for the death knell of Pitti Fragranze, when Tax Free World Association (TFWA), which takes place in Cannes and caters to large, international companies selling in tax-free locations throughout the world, advanced its dates from late October to the beginning of October—a scant two weeks after the close of Pitti Fragranze. Now, instead of attending both shows, a large percentage of Pitti Fragranze’s mature brands and distributors, many of whom had cut their teeth at Pitti Fragranze, were obliged to choose between the two, and opted for the larger more lucrative markets in Cannes.
Why did people flock to Florence for Pitti Fragranze 2023? Priority of artistry over commercial interests has always been Pitti Fragranze’s greatest strength and draw. “The Pitti Fragranze group is a nonprofit organization, whose primary principle has always been artistry,” says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. He is also quick to point out that, “although financial considerations are essential to any business enterprise, we strive to keep these secondary to excellence.”
How did these lofty principles stand up to facts? 2023 statistics show that crucial numbers and growth figures for Pitti Fragranze 2023 exceeded expectations for the 189 highly curated artistic perfumery brands, ranging from well-known, such as Caron and Masque Milano, to lesser known such as, Calaj Perfume or FUMparFUM. Nearly 1,600 buyers attended the fair, a 28% increase from last year, with international attendance up by 47%. There was also significant participation in the special events and talks revolving around this edition's theme, “Perception Reinvented.”
Pitti Fragranze participants spoke of nonquantifiable qualities such as visual arts, gracious structures, and empty spaces playing important roles in creating an attractive and pleasurable experience in which exchanges, emotions, and real friendships are born. Buyers and other visitors greatly appreciated the brand selection, while exhibitors were happy to meet with a highly professional audience of buyers, retail operators, and media from Italian and international markets—all currently booming in artistic perfumery.
From the point of view of a Pitti Fragranze exhibitor, Ulrich Lang of Ulrich Lang New York said, “… more than fragrances, Pitti Fragranze is a gathering of perfume people and energy, which inspires brand creators and visitors to form beneficial alliances in creation, retail, and communication.”
Well-known YouTube and Instagram fragrance reviewer Sebastian Jara @theperfumeguy said, “The Pitti Fragranze venue is one of the best I've been inside among all the perfume shows I’ve attended. It's wide, spacious, and not cramped which makes the show very chill and not overwhelming. You can actually get through the entire show in the three days and feel like you have actually accomplished it. On top of that you are in an historic Italian city, so meeting with friends and colleagues makes it much more fun to attend Pitti Fragranze.”
In addition to brands exhibiting inside the official Pitti Fragranze venue, a number of brands such as Angelos Créations Olfactives, Mirads Parfums, Perfume.Sucks, and Thomas De Monaco Parfums chose to exhibit “off-campus” in showrooms located in nearby hotels. For Thomas De Monaco, Creative Director of Thomas De Monaco Parfums, “The local and regional spirit of Pitti Fragranze is essential for me and my young brand for building partnerships with local stores. Pitti 2023 exceeded my expectations in the number and quality of people who came to my showroom, and with whom I was able to share my story and adventure.”
A rich selection of programs and events that delve into topics of specific interest to artistic/niche industry players was also an important draw. The program entitled “Agarthi, the Perfume of Metaverse,” for example, offering a conceptual and imaginative thesis on the power of perfume to trigger imagination, especially with the use of AI, drew a large and responsive audience, a clear indication of the enormous interest in scent technology and the perfume world’s increasing embrace of AI and the metaverse.
Outstanding Fragrances and Brands
Moved by the special relationships among peers that Pitti inspires, I invited some of my fellow fragrance reviewers to help me come up with a list of outstanding fragrances, knowing that we all would benefit from the enormous variety of our tastes and cultures.
Out of many excellent offerings, we came up with the following ten fragrances listed in alphabetical order by name of fragrance brand.
1. Sin & Pleasure by BornToStandOut
“A standout for me for its booziness and its warm spicy sweetness, Sin & Pleasure is a nice balance of gourmand-y boozy notes with floral and earthy woody touches. Can't wait to start wearing it.”
-Sebastian Jara Instagram @theperfumeguy
2. Bodhi & Utah by Ephemeral Dyadic
“An ode to nostalgia, akin to revisiting an iconic early '90s beach scene. Teasing the senses with its spicy, salty, airy, and woody notes, while conjuring images of sun, sand, and the ocean's gentle embrace. Point Break rocks!”
-Filip Jungic Instagram @thewayofscent
3. Plague by FUMparFUM
“I love the wild and untamed spirit of this Lithuanian brand whose fragrances by perfumer/radio and TV celebrity Aistis Mickevičius are designed more as olfactory objects or states of mind, than as wearable perfumes. Especially intriguing, Plague, the most recent of the Black Alchemist collection, and still in experimental stages, evokes the mood of a scary bedtime story for children. For those who dare, “Sweet dreams, my darling!”
-Sarah Colton Instagram @sarahcolton @badgirlsperfume
4. Sawlaj by Kajal
“An exploration of leather and spice, Sawlaj is reminiscent of classics like Bel Ami by Hermes. A leather fragrance category that speaks to the essence of timeless elegance.”
-Filip Jungic Instagram @thewayofscent
5. Cinabre Eau de Parfum by Maria Candida Gentile
“Inimitable and classy, Maria Candida Gentile, perfumer and brand owner, was at the show after an absence of several years. “Life is always changing …” she replied when asked what brought her back. Though not new, Cinabre Eau de Parfum (2009) is still my favorite, and I don’t even consider myself a rose fragrance person. Smooth, not powdery. Uplifting, green, and peppery. I’ve been wearing it a lot since Pitti.”
-Sarah Colton Instagram @sarahcolton @badgirlsperfume
6. Impératrice La Vanille Extrait by Mirads Parfums
“Signed by perfumer Miguel Matos, Impératrice La Vanille Extrait is languid and sensual like a dark rum cocktail from the islands, stirred not shaken with a vanilla pod swizzle stick, and handed to me by a stranger.”
-Sarah Colton Instagram @sarahcolton @badgirlsperfume
7. White Stone Prophecy 2023 by Olivier Durbano
“Olivier Durbano’s 19th release in 19 years of perfume creation, White Stone Prophecy 2023 is a culmination, an ending and a beginning, a piercing light of frankincense robed in a mantle of herbal psalms, sacred resins with a core of delicate violets and soaring sage. Resounding in a pure note to sweep clean and renew, return to the child and the departing, then you will see.”
-Danu Seith-Fyr Instagram @danu_sf @ode_r_
8. Raw Gold 2023 by Thomas De Monaco Parfums
“More patchouli and honey, less of the animalics and barnyard touches of Raw Gold 2020, Raw Gold 2023 is an intoxicatingly delicious, sweet, woody, earthy concoction!”
-Sebastian Jara Instagram @theperfumeguy
9. Suncrest by Ulrich Lang New York
“Peach infused Suncrest fills the tranquil country path, evoking cherished nostalgia—a universally treasured sensation, and striking a balance between sweetness and heaviness with refreshing fruits and gentle florals. Versatile and suitable for any occasion—from the demands of a workday to the enchantment of a romantic date.”
-Elizabeth Noir Instagram @elizabethnoirperfume
10. Histria by Wesker
“An aromatic green journey through olive groves, fields of lavender, rosemary, and sage, Histria is carried on a breeze of citrus and pine woods, legendary to the region of Istria.”
-Sarah Colton Instagram @sarahcolton @badgirlsperfume
Going Forward
Crucial to its ongoing success, Pitti Fragranze goers love the experience and are reassured about the future. Olivier Durbano, brand owner and perfume creator who has attended every Pitti Fragranze edition since its inception, put it this way, “I know I can count on the sensitivity, intelligence, and creativity of the Pitti Fragranze team to evolve with beauty and tenacity, without denying our values.”
Indeed, when queried about the future of Pitti Fragranze, Napoleone emphasizes these values. “Our goal is to make something excellent and useful. The risk of getting bigger is that you lose quality. When considering possibilities for exporting Pitti Fragranze to a place or places which can handle a larger and more profitable number of brands, our choice has been, and remains, to stay here in Florence, within the limits of how much we can expand here. We prefer to take the risks that staying small entail rather than those of getting big. You can’t transport or replicate atmosphere. We have the excellence of Italy and the inimitable atmosphere of Florence. We will keep our soul and remain who we are. Evolving, not changing.”
