I always say, Christopher Street is a think-piece. To construct Christopher Street’s multi-layered narrative, the concept of Top/Mid/Dry (the standard fragrance pyramid) is treated more like Act I/Act II/Act III of a story: it is a method aimed at bringing structural and narrative development into sync with one another. This approach helps bolster the framework for the fragrance’s main narrative thread (inspired by the spectrum). To better understand how this design motif works, let’s take a closer look at the top notes and Act I of Christopher Street’s olfactive narrative…
Christopher Street, Act I
Dirty Lime Cocktail, Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Leather, and Tobacco… Five ingredients made up of three accords and two individual raws. This is Christopher Street Act I. Behind the scenes, more stirs in the background of the perfume, but these materials are the first five stars that dominate the initial moments after that introductory spray.
The first three of these materials are citrus: highly volatile and easily identifiable. Due to that extreme volatility, their spotlight moment must occur during Act I. While certain tricks of the trade can give citrus notes a bit of an extended drag, their big moment almost always happens during the opening of a fragrance. Their volatility determines sequencing. Knowing this, the three citruses chosen also intentionally echo the three main themes of Christopher Street’s story: its merchant roots (the bitter orange of the West Village markets and grocers), its history of activism (Stonewall’s dirty lime cocktail), and its distinctive sense of community (the familiar sparkle of bergamot).
The intensity of these citrus materials is dialed way up in the formula. The fragrance kicks off with a rebel yell. This extreme presentation was done to mimic a technique commonly used in immersive theater. When you first set foot on the set of an immersive production, you usually do so by passing through a carefully constructed door (be it real or proverbial). There you may enter the dream… step inside the story. In crossing that threshold, you are leaving the outside world behind. By then choosing to step further inside, you are essentially joining the action of the production. To mirror that same effect, the citrus notes at first overwhelm, and then settle on the skin. That initial blast can be dizzying: it is an olfactive ray of light meant to cut to the quick. Its sharpness and intensity drown out all other olfactory noise, clearing a way into Christopher Street’s story. In unison, these ingredients act as an immersive portal.
Next comes leather and tobacco. Again, these two materials tie directly to the roots of life in the West Village. Typically, leather is not used as a top note. Neither is tobacco. Yet with Christopher Street, both appear in Act I. How can that be? The secret is in purposely overdosing the top notes inherent to those raw materials, pushing their molecular presence more immediately into the foreground. They are enhanced, top heavy accords built tacked onto the structure of the original material. While both ingredients continue to support the action into Act II (and to some extent Act III), their star moments occur during that opening act. For leather, this meant pushing Iso Butyl Quinoline (IBQ), its dryness adding texture to the rind of the citrus notes and prepping for the medley of spices sitting on the olfactive horizon. And for tobacco, coumarin is pushed; its sweet pipe smoke lifting the richness of the tobacco absolute hiding in the base. In their new altered forms, these materials echo Christopher Street’s “merchants to misfits” history, and begin tethering together the fabric of the larger olfactive narrative.
Following the Olfactive Loops: A Push and A Pull
Of course, this is just the introduction of Christopher Street’s olfactive story. As Act I gives way to Act II… as your skin heats up… some of the initial stars exit the stage (i.e. most of the citrus notes). Others join the ensuing action. Chemically speaking, the most volatile molecules burn away, leaving behind only lingering impressions of that earlier presence (ghost fragments). Similarly, accords disassemble, unfolding into the previously foreshadowed movement mentioned above. These remaining parts from Act I then further unravel and transition, seeking out new olfactive purpose to keep the perfume’s story moving (they join the background action). Meanwhile, new stars step into the spotlight (spices, skin, and florals). In Act II, the olfactive loops are officially thrust into motion.
Throughout Christopher Street’s progression, materials are constantly shifting identities. Consequently, they set the contemplative olfactory mind reeling. As you try to identify individual notes, that recognition encourages you to follow those odors through their continued evolution in the formula. On one hand, you smell forward, anticipating what’s to come next in the line up. However, that same recognition triggers a bit of back interpolation. You smell backwards, intuiting these materials’ initial paths to their current point of reveal. In other words, you fill in certain missing details using your own distinct scent memory data. At any given moment in the perfume’s evolution, there is a sense of a push and a pull.
As a fragrance, Christopher Street aims to bottle the dynamism of the gen-sex spectrum, both in form and impact. The scent is like a carefully choreographed dance: an olfactive prism where ingredient identity is in constant transition. The deeper you dive into the olfactive story, the more chance you might uncover some hidden detail linked to Christopher Street’s olfactive history. Every component is laced with intent and heritage, born of a direct connection to its sublime source.
More Decoding Fragrance Posts To Explore
De-Classifying Fragrance Ingredients | Part One
De-Classifying Fragrance Ingredients | Part Two
De-Classifying Fragrance Ingredients | Part Three
De-Classifying Fragrance Ingredients | Part Four
De-Classifying Fragrance Ingredients | Part Five
De-Classifying Fragrance Families