Calvin Klein Encounter (2012): Fronted by Alexander Skarsgard {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}

Calvin Klein will launch a new men's scent in the fall of 2012 called Encounter. Actor Alexander Skarsgard will be the face of the fragrance with Lara Stone as supporting actress/model. In one more example of the meshing of Hollywood imagery and scenario-making with the story-telling of perfume, Skarsgard noted that,...

“Their idea for their concept was very intriguing to me — it was almost like a short film, and very film noir. It felt interesting to me,” he said of the TV campaign and print ad. “I wanted to be involved with something where you tell a story — even though it’s a short story.”

Thomas Burkhardt, vice president of marketing for Coty Prestige stressed that the story illustrating the scent feels a bit unsettling, "a bit uncomfortable" as he put it specifically, which he sees as a defining trait of the Calvin Klein brand. The ending to this story "of unresolved tension and desire between a man and a woman,” is said to have been left open to interpretation.

It sounds like another story of seduction, which is the mainstay of commercial perfumery together with the coming-of-age tale: I'm a woman at last. The preferred genre of mainstream perfumery translated into filmic genre would be the rom-com story. The more shadowy film noir genre with its hint of creep translated into perfumery is a bit edgier (see next our list of Perfume suggestions for Fim Noir Viewing which we started compiling in last month).

Encounter was composed by Honorine Blanc and Pierre Negrin of Firmenich. It opens on top notes of mandarin, cardamom and rum leading to a heart of pepper, Egyptian jasmine, patchouli and cognac before leaving a trail of agarwood, atlas cedarwood and musk.

Via WWD