Art Direction & Conceptualization
Frou-Frou is both a perfume and a political gesture—one of the few that dares to challenge the market fatigue targeting young women. It questions whether the resurgence of extreme femininity in contemporary feminism empowers us or traps us within the logic of trends and algorithms. We chose to step away from the image of cleanliness and aspiration typically associated with pleasant scents. Our proposal is aimed at women who don’t take the “clean girl” ideal too seriously or who want to explore a more relaxed alternative.
We created a cream perfume with bacteria and fungi growing inside its jar, challenging users to dip their fingers into it. Visually, it appears as if they are applying the incubated bacteria and fungi onto their skin, though in reality, they are not. With a refined aesthetic and the backing of chemistry, we bring our concept to life: "Exalted Putrefaction."
Ironically, we use trendy objects—a coquette scrunchie, Rhode lip gloss, a lace thong, a tortoiseshell comb, a phone with a pink case, and gua shas. We took chemical samples from them, incubated them in a Petri dish, and let fungi and bacteria grow. This microbial culture became the foundation for our perfume jar, with a glass wall separating the bacteria from the solid fragrance..
Frou-Frou is both a perfume and a political gesture—one of the few that dares to challenge the market fatigue targeting young women. It questions whether the resurgence of extreme femininity in contemporary feminism empowers us or traps us within the logic of trends and algorithms. We chose to step away from the image of cleanliness and aspiration typically associated with pleasant scents. Our proposal is aimed at women who don’t take the “clean girl” ideal too seriously or who want to explore a more relaxed alternative.
We created a cream perfume with bacteria and fungi growing inside its jar, challenging users to dip their fingers into it. Visually, it appears as if they are applying the incubated bacteria and fungi onto their skin, though in reality, they are not. With a refined aesthetic and the backing of chemistry, we bring our concept to life: "Exalted Putrefaction."
Ironically, we use trendy objects—a coquette scrunchie, Rhode lip gloss, a lace thong, a tortoiseshell comb, a phone with a pink case, and gua shas. We took chemical samples from them, incubated them in a Petri dish, and let fungi and bacteria grow. This microbial culture became the foundation for our perfume jar, with a glass wall separating the bacteria from the solid fragrance..
