To recreate a gust of wind. Victor Kochetov x Mood Scent Bar

Why did you decide to open a niche perfume shop?

I didn’t just want to sell perfume. When thinking about what new solutions we could introduce, we were faced with a choice: to improve customer service or to invest in areas that would allow us to reflect the era we live in. This is how the idea of collaborating with artists was born. To present perfumes that reflect our times. We do not just want to sell modern perfumes, we want to create perfumes with authentic stories behind them. Not invented in isolation, but perfumes that reflect the spirit of the time.

What does authenticity mean in the context of collaborating with artists when creating perfumes?

The artist chooses something that they can relate to. I don’t like the tacky and sentimental stories about someone making perfume when they were in a successful love relationship, but they stopped when the relationship ended. For me, the true great art lies in matching the compositions. Let’s just take the example of the fragrance you are using – Hinoki. We are often afraid to talk about what something actually smells like. However, if we smell this scent, the first thing we sense is a tree. Even the name of this perfume by Comme des Garçons (before it was obscured by marketing campaigns) referred to a bathtub made of hinoki wood. This fragrance is like contemplating a perfectly sculpted work of art.

I read somewhere that Hinoki is Björk’s favourite perfume. I really admire her and I wanted to know at all costs what this scent was. And I found it when I met you. This does not seem to me to be just a coincidence, because what you have in common with Björk is the creation of niche and ephemeral things, that at the same time are very exciting. >

Again, I am fascinated by her authenticity. Your story of discovering this fragrance, so significant to you, is also very interesting. You wanted to smell of something special, not of a place or a flower. You wanted to reach Björk through the scent, to understand her. I was reminded of the research of one of the artists’ groups on the crafting of objects. On the continuity of this process. It turned out in both Japan and Iceland, in very different cultures, there a similar craft being practised, and that is the weaving of sieves. An almost contemplative activity. It is this focus on the perfect product that you can sense in Hinoki. Perhaps Björk was also attracted by that aspect?

Why did you decide to cooperate with young Polish artists in designing your shop window?

First of all, it is beautiful. I hate mediocrity (laughs). I select artists who will be able to create something that has not been done yet.

And hence Mirella von Chrupek?

I adore her, so the idea of a collaboration came naturally. In my opinion she is hundred percent authentic. She lives by the rules that I have already mentioned. I am not interested in the brief spasm, but in the rhythm. And her life is in tune with the rhythm of what she does. She has an amazing ability to combine the work she does with her own personal style. It is important that the artist does not lose him or herself. Show their personality and, at the same time, take into account my character, such as my love of the retro period. Although we have not always managed to reach a compromise, it is this situation that was our victory. That was our success. People make mistakes, they are imperfect, so even if I do not manage to get along with someone, if I have to give up on the shop window idea, I am happy, because this situation will be real. The relationship with the artist, as well as the relationship with our visitors, is crucial. Some visitors – for financial reasons – can only come and join us once a year. However, every time it is us they choose.

Who did you work with on the winter shop window design?

With Wojtek Sobczyk. He has designed a so-called “ceramic shop window” for us. It is delightful, you are welcome to come and see for yourself.

What is your assessment of the condition of Polish contemporary art?

In my opinion Polish art is progressive and diverse. I don’t notice the apathy and procrastination in it, which is so evident in the West. There, art became an adoration of one’s own ego, expensive antics, and I do not like that. I like the philosophical approach of Polish artists, individuals who live according to what they say. I am not interested in people who act like road signs, marking the roads they do not follow themselves.

I have seen more than once how you pack perfumes for visitors. This is your own very unique procedure. Where do you get your inspiration from?

It was always my desire to make entering my shop feel like a small celebration for my visitors. Frequenting the best boutiques, hotels and confectioneries in Paris, for example, I have always wanted to create a similar place in Warsaw. I always wanted to offer something more to my visitors. This is how the concept of creating a horoscope with Igor Kubik came about. To me this project is filled with magic and very strong aesthetic qualities. It will bring good luck to everyone who visits the perfumery.

Which artbranding in the world of perfume you admire the most?

For me, an amazing combination of business and art is my friend, David Moltz or D. S. & Durga. His unique style can be seen at every level – from the selection of photos to the visualisation of the entire marketing campaign, flacons or the fragrance composition itself. Everyone tries to create the smell of sea breeze. It is a very popular scent and it seems familiar to everyone. However, if we had smelled this composition at David’s, we would have realised that everything we felt up until now was false. In my opinion, the recreation of the wind breeze in itself is an art.
An incredibly interesting element in art and perfume is the manifestation of Alessandro Gualtieri in the form of Orto Parisi fragrance line. Smelling this perfume we not only travel to Italy, but we are also able to locate it historically. We know what events they refer to – for example, the transformation of Italy during the last years of his grandparents’ lives. We recognise the buildings of the tourist infrastructure or even specific impressions such as the moment of landing in Italy. Even the colour of the bottle or the liquid reflects the colour we see when looking down at Naples from above. This can be seen especially in the last fragrance which is supposed to reproduce the impression of sea breeze over hot ground. The flacon is blue-violet, which exactly reflects the colour that arises from the fusion of the earth and sea. Both the fragrance side of the composition and the colour aspect of the perfume are phenomenal here.

What contributed to the success of your perfumery?

Mood Scent Bar was established eight years ago. I was just very lucky at first. I staked everything on one card, but from day one, the perfumery has been bringing me income. I managed to create a way of connecting, a specific kind of communication with our visitors. I am very proud of our manifesto because it is authentic and I am not ashamed to display it. It is in one hundred per cent accurate about what I do. Today, our visitors’ awareness is so much greater. One of the basic areas I have put my trust in when I founded the Mood Scent Bar was education. This has enabled me to create an army. I don’t like using the word “customer”. Many people search for scents for mundane reasons. I wanted this choice to have a deeper motivation. For me it was about the mood. When we feel confident about our selection of a perfume, when the scent fits us, speaks to us – that’s the mood. This industry is currently highly commercialised. To stay on the sidelines, remain niche and maintain authenticity, I focused on the relationship with art. My competitors told me: “it’s not worth the effort”, “your client doesn’t understand you, they don’t think about what you do with the websites, or how you pack the perfumes”. They would only be right if I did not pay attention to my visitors, did not explain my manifesto to them. Anna Wintour once said: “fashion creates a great distance, which is my success, but at the same time it is what frightens me”. My task is to shorten this distance, for example by having a chat and quoting the manifesto.

Victor Kochetov – creator and owner of Mood Scent Bar – niche perfumeries in Warsaw and Poznań. His shops are a strong and recognisable brand on the map of both cities and a unique place where the beauty of scents, exclusivity of products and sophisticated design intertwine. In his opinion, fragrance is something physical and, as such, must be in full harmony with the personality of the human being and his or her needs. That is why he places such emphasis on the highest level of customer experience. It is in his perfumeries that the brands and fragrances first appear, that cannot be encountered anywhere else in Poland, and which are appreciated by demanding customers; brands only discovered by the competition at a much later stage.