The Landed Gentry: Acqua di Parma Colonia Club

by: Elena Vosnaki

When Ralph Lauren came into the scene he sold the idea of landed gentry to the American market better than a British gentleman ever could. His preppy style and equestrian ideal, immortalized in images of southern country clubs and expanses of green with horses and polo players, recalled a privileged life style which greatly appealed to the white collar worker. Polo by RL was a best-selling sensation thanks to its image and name as much as it was thanks to its incredibly herbal, tonic, green aura that radiated vast expanses of uninhibited land and at the same time time-honored habits of grooming. If your fantasy of land that goes up to where the rainbow ends involves cowboys and Brokeback Mountain scenery, this is not it. No, that gentleman gets off his jodhpurs as soon as the call of high tea is called and he retreats into the manor to wash in talcum-powder smelling soap.  It's somehow ironic and yet compelling that the newest Acqua di Parma, Colonia Club, recalls this very image, but also takes elements of the smell too, exalting them with mint and powerful green biting galbanum which combine to create a cool green aura as fascinating as the symbolism of cool acid green in cartoon characters iconography. You sense the rather inhuman distance and you also sense the respect and awe it commands.

This is a characteristic it has in common with Brut, the original fragrance, before it was cheapened for the drugstore, circulating under the Faberge brand. It was an awe inspiring fragrance, none less so for its powerful sillage, its inedible quality and its commanding mix of aromatic notes (notably the characteristic note of anise and the peppery blast of basil) with mossy woody ones (patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver).

The image was contrary to Polo's landed gentry style that of a Lothario, busy conquering women's hearts in urban settings rather than earning his keep via his estate. It's a mystery how the two scents can have common smell attributes and yet so vastly differ in advertising imagery!

Times changed but neither image lost appeal. Aspirational status and sex appeal both play a significant role in our choice of fragrances, especially when men choose their own cologne. For the less romantically inclined men fragrance acts as a tool. And masculine, sophisticated and dynamic claims are catnip. So much the better when the scent smells good too! 

Colonia Club smells good. And lasts forever (on my skin). Don't get me wrong. If it has elements of both Polo and Brut, how could it not? The only real problem is that men under 50 rarely see these kind of colognes as "in the moment". If women are aware of how retro-smelling fragrances might create an ageist opportunity for disassociated perception in the absence of being seen, men might also be keenly aware that the new Colonia might not register as contemporary smelling to their peers. 

Nevertheless the hipster movement, with its Edwardian facial hair (who remembers whiskers up to there), its embracing of retro as hip and engaged in an alternative lifestyle, could be a good fit for that. Acqua di Parma isn't typically a brand who aims at hipsters, lacking the necessary artisanal marketing concept, but judging by Penhaligon's Sartorial fragrance, which also took a page off Brut and vastly appealed to this demographic, the potential for a revival of these older, starched mint & dollar bills scents might not be too far off, equestrian hobbies notwithstanding. 

The press release from Acqua di Parma describes Colonia Club thus: "Similar to a stunning dressage performance, what is most important is the impeccable synergy of movements, the perfect combination of emotion and style. The top is characterized by the typical citrus notes of bergamot, lemon, petitgrain and mandarin, immediately followed by an unexpected olfactory note. The sophisticated freshness of mint—combined with neroli oil—exudes a new, original and fascinating dynamism. The heart is a blend of aromatic geranium and lavender notes with the brand new, sophisticated character of mint echoing in the equally elegant freshness of galbanum. The dry and woody accents of Haiti vetiver, combined with precious musk notes and a rich grey amber accord, make up the perfect base, stressing the masculine, dynamic, sophisticated tones of the fragrance."

The notes for Colonia Club include:

top notes:

bergamot, lemon, petitgrain, mandarin, mint, petitgrain oil 

central notes:

geranium, lavender, galbanum

base notes:

Haitian vetiver, musk, ambergris

It wouldn't go amiss to emphasize how Colonia Club by Acqua di Parma not only recalls Brut original and Polo Ralph Lauren (in the green flask) in terms of scent, but it also totally echoes that delectable "bottle green" shade which made the classics so memorable. It is the strength of a brand to consolidate a strong visual input in the mind of the consumer and Acqua di Parma excels in this like few can. From the gorgeous, sunny warm yellow that wraps its classic line, to the deep blue that echoes the azure waters of the Mediterranean for their Blu Mediterraneo line, they nail color and symbolism. With their vivid dark green of Colonia Club they managed to stir more than one sense once again.