Andy Warhol Silver Factory – I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like….(February 6, 2012 New Fragrance Listing)

^{Photo - Wikipedia - Andy Warhol by Jack Mitchell}

I’ve just finished reading “Just Kids” by Patti Smith. It chronicles the friendship/loveship of artists Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe - how they met in New York in 1967 and became lovers, friends and muses. It’s a great snapshot of bohemian life in NYC in the late 60’s and early 70’s and really shows the creative process of producing art.

Of course, any discussion of art in New York at that time has to involve Andy Warhol and The Factory scene. She talks about how ambitious Mapplethorpe was and how enamoured he became of Andy Warhol. Warhol’s studio at 231 East 47th Street in New York was where all the cool artists hung out - Paul America, Ondine, Taylor Mead and Billy Name. It was called ‘The Factory’, because it was where the art was made – silk-screens were produced on an assembly line, while artists were painting, filmmakers were making movies and music was being written and performed.

Billy Name had the idea of ‘silvering’ the studio with tin foil, silver paint and shards of broken mirror. It was soon nicknamed ‘The Silver Factory’. Reading about the whole Warhol scene piqued my interest in it, which led me to dig out my bottle of Andy Warhol Silver Factory by Bond No. 9. I’ve always loved this scent, but now against the Smith’s story, I have another perspective on it.

It opens with bergamot, grapefruit and lavender, so crisp and clean it has an alcoholic astringency – something akin to vodka. Soon incense emerges and tempers the opening with rich, smoky warmth. Against this background, a trinity of florals - jasmine, iris, violet – appears, taking up where the lavender left off. The iris and violet combine together to shoot a metallic chill right through the heart that is warmed at the base by amber, resin and dry cedar wood, with amber adding a note of sweetness. The experience is of cool florals enrobed in warm, smoky incense. Now, this is art!

Does it smell of the sex, drugs and rock and roll that really defined the Silver Factory? Eeewww! Not even close! Andy Warhol Silver Factory does capture the idea of cold silver warmed by the pulse of creativity, but it’s the way it smells on warm skin that makes it a standout and so FBW.

Andy Warhol Silver Factory is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $5.00 for 1 ml.