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Six Scents was an innovative fragrance initiative conceptualized and creatively directed by Kaya Sorhaindo and curated by Joseph Quartana, launched in 2008 with the pioneering concept of pairing emerging fashion designers directly with master perfumers to create limited-edition fragrances while supporting charitable causes. Operating under the tagline "creativity with a conscience," the project gave rising designers the opportunity to translate their aesthetic sensibilities into scent before achieving the commercial scale typically required for fragrance development, with Quartana noting the initiative sought to "steal from the future and offer it now." Each annual collection featured six unisex fragrances created through direct collaboration between designer and perfumer, with proceeds benefiting organizations including Designers Against AIDS, Pro-Natura, and War Child International.
Six Scents was the first fragrance company to include multimedia content in its packaging, with Series Two and Series Three featuring DVDs containing documentary interviews with the designers and short films by artists including Marco Brambilla, Alia Raza, Lucas Michael, Rainer Judd, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Olaf Breuning, Sue de Beer, Heather Sommerfeld, Tim Richardson, Justin Edward John Smith and James Widegren, alongside exclusive portraits by Robert Knoke. Each collection launched with exhibitions at institutions including the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, with presentations in Moscow, Beijing, Singapore, and Japan. The initiative expanded fragrance distribution into fashion boutiques—launching in over 90 international concept boutiques including 10 Corso Como, Colette, Joyce, and Surface2Air—building a market now commonplace but pioneering at the time, and influencing the contemporary niche perfume landscape.
Over four series from 2008 to 2012, Six Scents collaborated with twenty-four designers: Alexandre Herchcovitch, Bernhard Willhelm, Jeremy Scott, Cosmic Wonder, Preen, Gareth Pugh (Series One); Phillip Lim, Damir Doma, Henrik Vibskov, House of Holland, Richard Nicoll, Toga (Series Two); Alexis Mabille, Mary Katrantzou, Junn.J, Rad Hourani, N.Hoolywood, Ohne Titel (Series Three); and Boris Bidjan Saberi, Giuliano Fujiwara, KTZ, Raphael Young, VPL, Vth Avenue Shoe Repair (Series Four).
