John Varvatos Dark Rebel Blends Two Symbols of Change: Detroit & Cuba (2015) {New Men's Fragrance}
Fashion designer John Varvatos will launch a new men's scent from September 2015 called Dark Rebel, which is dedicated to his return as a businessman to his hometown, Detroit...
In March 2015, he opened a new Varvatos flagship store there, one of his 21 flagships around the world.
After a period in which Motor City had become an emblem for drastic economic downturn and a prime subject for ghost city urban photography, Varvatos says he's been impressed lately at how the winds of change have started to be felt. He wants to be part of the change, by being a little ahead of the game and as the sound of a death knell seems to vanish in the distance, so that it stays there.
The jus itself mirrors his feelings about being in Detroit, not just on a family visit but as a participant in its renewal,
"It's about being rebellious and thinking outside the box; walking to your own beat, never being a follower, always being a leader," he says. Varvatos filmed a video and shot the ad campaign in Detroit to highlight this story of darkness coming into the light.
The new eau de toilette is also more discreetly inspired by the political and commercial opening of Cuba, another place which is becoming a symbol of change. The perfume features notes of tobacco leaves and Cuban sugar cane.
The rock 'n roll influence which is part of the brand DNA is expressed by a black leather look - Alice Cooper was in Detroit to inaugurate his friend's new store.
The top of the fragrance opens with Jamaican rum absolute, a Cuban sugarcane accord, davana essence, cardamom absolute, clary sage essence. The scent then segues into a heart of black leather, fir balsam, nutmeg, black pepper, and styrax absolute. The base rests on akigalawood ( a woody, floral and spicy fractionated patchouli oil), cade essence, a tobacco leaf accord, Mexican blackened vanilla bean, castoreum, and balsawood.
