02/17/2022
BrianBuchanan
355 Reviews
BrianBuchanan
2
Glitter and green androgyny
It’s tempting to see T Rex and Sikkim as two sides of the same coin. They both appeared in 1971, and, capturing something about their age, both were successful. The appearance of T Rex singer Marc Bolan wearing glitter on Top of the Pops (with Elton John guesting on piano) is generally thought to be the start of Glam Rock, a cross-dressing style of pop that was huge in the early seventies.
They were soon followed by Bowie, posing as Ziggy Stardust in multicolour bodysuit, dyed hair and snow white tan. The campery reached a climax in ‘73 with The Sweet, pouting in lipstick and make up.
While it was getting hard to tell the boys from the girls, (some of) their mothers were retreating into a different, more reserved kind of androgyny - with matching ‘his & hers’ trouser suits (!) and fitted blazers.
Every fashion needs its perfume - and there was Sikkim, a cool, formal, starchy green aldehyde, a bit like the original Y (1964) with dark woody leather. A dry pink floral and amber baseline are concessions to ‘feminine’ codes, but it’s so distant from the fruity florals we know today it’s hard to imagine many women thinking it a feminine. The box of the original release, with it’s marbled pale brown Aramis-style pattern, straight lines and square bottle, only serve to reinforce the message; this is not a hearts and flowers pong. Its roots go back to the green chypres of Bandit (1945) and Miss Dior (1947); hard perfumes born of hard times.
But Sikkim was not exceptional in its green androgyny.
GIII (1970), No19 (1970) and Silences (1978) were also part of the green movement, perfumes which favoured unsexy, dark and woody themes; more carapace than cuddly.
Like the present moment, the seventies were uncertain times and it was natural that perfumes, like other productions, reflected them.
So perhaps, with Green awareness and Social Distancing, this rather phlegmatic style is due for a comeback.
I hope so, it may not have been fun but perfume was much more grown up in those days.
They were soon followed by Bowie, posing as Ziggy Stardust in multicolour bodysuit, dyed hair and snow white tan. The campery reached a climax in ‘73 with The Sweet, pouting in lipstick and make up.
While it was getting hard to tell the boys from the girls, (some of) their mothers were retreating into a different, more reserved kind of androgyny - with matching ‘his & hers’ trouser suits (!) and fitted blazers.
Every fashion needs its perfume - and there was Sikkim, a cool, formal, starchy green aldehyde, a bit like the original Y (1964) with dark woody leather. A dry pink floral and amber baseline are concessions to ‘feminine’ codes, but it’s so distant from the fruity florals we know today it’s hard to imagine many women thinking it a feminine. The box of the original release, with it’s marbled pale brown Aramis-style pattern, straight lines and square bottle, only serve to reinforce the message; this is not a hearts and flowers pong. Its roots go back to the green chypres of Bandit (1945) and Miss Dior (1947); hard perfumes born of hard times.
But Sikkim was not exceptional in its green androgyny.
GIII (1970), No19 (1970) and Silences (1978) were also part of the green movement, perfumes which favoured unsexy, dark and woody themes; more carapace than cuddly.
Like the present moment, the seventies were uncertain times and it was natural that perfumes, like other productions, reflected them.
So perhaps, with Green awareness and Social Distancing, this rather phlegmatic style is due for a comeback.
I hope so, it may not have been fun but perfume was much more grown up in those days.
