Author Description

"In its ongoing assault on the five senses, Visionaire gained acclaim for a 2003 issue that deconstructed the elements of scent, pairing twenty-one experimental perfumes--produced in collaboration with International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF)--alongside twenty-one equally innovative images. Mario Sorrenti's (literally and figuratively) chilling photo of icebergs paired with the scent of cold by perfumer Vera Degen and Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott's image of Kate Moss and daughter, Lila Grace, paired with the scent of motherhood by Christophe Laudamiel. Brilliantly, David Bowie's smell of success smelled vaguely rotten, symbolized in a Dan Forbes photo of sand slipping through Iman's sinuous fingers. Having just come off an infamous diet in which he shed over 90 pounds, Karl Lagerfeld sought to capture hunger: the scent of bread baking at Paris's legendary Poilâne Bakery. Perfumer Sandrine Malin distilled the carb-laden essence, and for the accompanying image, Lagerfeld photographed model Brad Kroenig in the nude, with just a loaf of bread covering his private parts. For IFF president Nicolas Mirzayantz, the issue pushed the limits of what he and his company thought possible. "Visionaire encapsulates everything in which we believe," he says. "It stretched our creativity in a new way. We were excited, stimulated, and energized." Much like everyone else involved"--Publisher's description.