Tom Ford: Memento Mori
Tom Ford is described to have said, “I’m so aware that everything we experience is transient...I could be just as happy in New Mexico with no clothes and a one-room adobe house...but I wouldn’t miss all the other stuff except fragrance. I’d have a harder time living without it than fancy clothes and fancy furniture,” (The Perfume Society)
Parfum denotes more than just a priori assumptions about a person. It is aromatherapy, transcendental to memory, and its longevity is a reflection of human nature’s inherent impermanence. The chemistry of parfum and all its concentration counterparts is a reminder of mortality and the transience of life. Every bottle is a memento mori art form. A reminder that life is beautiful because there is death.
The Tom Ford Memento Mori campaign would culminate as a pop-up that is open to the public. The premise would be to display Tom Ford parfums as vanitas with history attached on a plaque. The event would feature freebies for the customers, such as samples and a gift shop at the end where they can buy merch and perfume from the Tom Ford Collection.
