A manifesto for niche slow perfumery
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As a small independent brand, Gallivant getting press coverage is a special kind of recognition ( we have no leverage with anyone with advertising budgets - so the quality of our artisanal perfumes needs to stand out on its own.)
Recently we've been covered in both The Times (of London) and The New York Times. I'm proud we get such editorial coverage - and yes, it does help immensely; bringing us curious new customers.
I'm sharing here the longer answers I wrote. Naturally the journalists need to cut down for the final feature.
- With your long experience in international perfumery, what was missing that you wanted to capture with Gallivant?
Perfume can be, should be, different things to many different people - but personally I wanted to go back to basics. I felt increasingly turned off by mainstream perfumery - think of those naffly portentous Christmas perfume ads, slebs in preposterous situations, those weirdly flat monotonous voices saying gnomic things - empty, boring and flatulent. So I wanted to capture a purer creative spirit : honest, authentic, slow, close to the materials, close to my customers, boutiquey - let's make perfume personal again! I wanted to reconnect with the joy of experimenting with beautiful and interesting raw materials. What happens when you set blood orange against an oud, would it be fun to marry cucumber water with one of the most expensive and iconic roses? I also wanted to bring back elegance and create 'chic' clever perfumes without being pretentious. Craft and creativity, rather than over-hyped cobblers.
- How would you characterise ‘typically’ British perfumery in general?
British perfume like British cuisine and fashion is much less hidebound by the weight of tradition. There's a pleasing, liberating 'Anarchy in the UK' spirit to what us indies are doing. I like our perfume culture here - there's a sense of collaboration between us, we're not "competitors" - and we don't take ourselves too seriously. We have a shared tongue-in-cheek irreverence.
That said, I am very inspired by the traditional French perfume houses, or the neo-trad like Parfum d'Empire - the precision and the savoir-faire - and I want the quality of what we make in this country to be on par.
- What do younger generations look for in perfume, do you think?
I'm very encouraged when I meet younger fragheads (that's our nickname for the hardcore perfume fans and aficionados). They're much more into the idea of having a 'fragrance wardrobe' (when you have 4, 5, 6 or more scents that you rotate depending on mood, season, look, emotion) rather than a signature scent for life. I love that the younger generations have given up on perfume monogamy.
I'm also pleased to see more and more people seeking out perfumes from the smaller, under-the-radar genuine indie makers like Gallivant - who are making the most exciting scents today. There's a genuine curiosity about the craft, and the humans behind these creations.
- Do you feel this is a particularly ‘buzzy’ time for British perfumery? Is it gaining more of global reputation, do you feel? If so, how is this evidenced?
Yes, there's definitely a moment. There's a small gang of like-minded, authentic artisan companies and it's wonderfully collaborative. Experimental Perfume Club, Sarah McCartney are just two fine examples. We're also lucky to have something like the Barnes Fragrance Fair (every May) which brings some of that excitement around authentic perfume culture to a wider audience, even attracting international visitors now because it feels special and unique.
I'm very proud to manufacture here in the UK (in the Cotswolds and also at our Dalston, Hackney studio). That's important to me because I want to support other British artisans and that's definitely something that our international clients appreciate; because it feels unusual and rare. There is still a cachet attached to British creativity and talent.
It's also great to see a big retailer like Boots raising its game. It's opening a new fragrance-concept boutique at Broadgate Central in London this autumn (2025), giving a platform to local talent, to lesser-known genuinely independent slow perfume brands.
- I detect a desire for ‘niche’ perfumes, but I see some brands presenting themselves as such while churning out lazy, carbon-copy scents. Would I be correct in thinking this is what happens when you bring in investment money?
Yes, it does feel like a gold rush moment. There's a lot of private equity backed new 'brands' with marketing muscle entering the market, but they're missing the point of perfume. It's a slow, thoughtful, careful craft - and they're all wham-bam, Instagram aesthetics, go fast and break things ethos.
You don't get a sense of much love or respect for perfumery. Too many of those perfumes give off the whiff of money-making.
I worry that perfume will eat itself. I'm not convinced that all the investment money worked out so well for the fashion business.
- In a world of SEO and ‘likes’, how do you avoid giving people what they already know and therefore think they want (which is the way to make the most money in the short term, I guess)?
I have no interest in trends or gimmicks. SEO-driven perfumery, perfumes designed for shock value on social media - that's not part of the perfume conversation I'm involved in. I want our perfumes to feel pleasantly, elegantly different. In that sense, it's more important for me to know perfume history - to have a respect for the great perfumes that have gone before, to riff on those. Who wants to smell like an algorithm ?
- Do you believe AI can contribute anything new and useful to perfumery?
Frankly, no. I see it as a destructive soulless force. It is destroying entry-level jobs -- where one learns the craft, gets a feel for the materials, the hands-on part. The 'boring' bits you realise later were so important to go through. Why would you want to take the human element of play, exploration, experimentation out of the creative process?
Who wants their trade run by dead-eyed robots?
