Our favorite muse is back in action and in fine form. This week, Daphne Guinness will be launching her new creative baby in the form of a fragrance (“Daphne” by Comme des Garçons) and a conceptual 3 minute art film entitled Mnemosyne. Starworks and All Day Everyday acted as a spiritual doula giving birth to the vision onscreen. I had a chat with Daphne about scent, creativity, directing, and wormholes.
(Photo Still from Mnemosyne)
Jauretsi: Both your fragrance and art film are close to launching. How do you feel after this very long road of creating this vision after so many years?
Daphne Guinness: I am at ease by the prospect of these projects being near completion, although, as I am someone who has ideas… and very lucid ideas of which direction I want to go in, that I get very involved with the process. I thrive in the process, it will be sad when it is over. It is the best feeling in the world to love what you do, and to be constantly pushing the ideas — discussing, collaborating and learning. THE INCEPTION and THE PROCESS are my favorite parts. If these things are right and every step is smooth, and if you invest your time and soul into something that you are 100% happy with, whatever anyone else might say, then the result is good.
I am rigorous, I am a perfectionist and I would never undertake something that I did not believe in. Authenticity in what I do is very important, as is the idea of team work. I value these relationships.
Explain the conceptual piece we are about to see on September 3rd online.. this short film you created for the fragrance which you refer to as “a pendant” to the actual fragrance?
It’s very difficult to explain in words what smell and scent mean to me, it is visceral. As a person, I felt that it was easier to explain that visually. So in order to do that —or, to let it speak for itself — I thought it would be interesting to do something beautiful that explained time, scent, and time travel. That scent can take you on a journey. That life, the beginning of life, and the end of life, and the sort of wormholes you go through on that journey. Also, how things can transform and become something else, depending on how you look at it. The narrative is that. It’s time travel within the bounds we live in on planet earth, and so this is the beginning of a long journey… or actually, it’s a life-long journey.
What is your process for deriving all your inspiration (i.e. clothing, fragrance, accessories, etc)? How do you flush out the spurts of ideas that lead to projects?
I have so many ideas going at the same time, I focus very intensely on one or two as I am not part of any bigger entity. To me, it is a challenge as the world is full of brilliant designers whom I respect. I often discover that there is something that I find is missing and it always takes me down the road of imagining how I would do that. I have always been like that. Everyday I have many thoughts and ideas, and I let them mature. If I think it’s worth pursuing then I will start making it myself, and sometimes, someone will like it, and ask me to do a version for them. It is something I enjoy and it is hugely rewarding.
When I’m doing something which I do normally for myself, whether its just drawing a little picture or singing or creating something, I do it in a very simple way. It’s not high tech, it’s just very much me. It comes very much from my soul and it’s in my head. It is intuitive and I know that there will be those that do not understand and I don’t know where it comes from, its just comes from somewhere deep inside. Explaining those sort of things can sound extremely pretentious and in order to not sound pretentious (i.e in print!), I wanted to create a piece [for this fragrance] where people can make up their own minds. Because music, art, sound, and visualization, its one… it all dove tails into one, the process is similar and that’s really why I am at this point.
This is your second film project wearing a Directors cap. Is film directing a passion you would like to pursue? If so, what is the dream project for you to work on?
I adore film. Every time I just want to do more. I am happiest in the creative process, Science fiction is one of the areas I love. It is difficult to be objective about myself but I think towards the future and combine my own experience with my fascination for history.
Explain the fact that this short film was not created as a commercial. In your words, it’s an “anti-commercial” for the fragrance, and the fact it’s going to exist online and how you feel about the dissemination of it.
I believe that ideas are free. Sometimes, in order have ideas, you have to share them. People who horde things, or try to in some way be sort of exclusive about some things is a very old fashion way of thinking about things. I’m not really a commercial kind of person because I just like to create things.
I think that this is the moment via the internet, viral things like this. If you can do it, do it, because you have to try and change consciousness. Because people are smart enough to understand when something is authentic and has integrity rather than it being overly manipulated.
It seems you constantly swim around creativity — from David La Chapelle’s project in Hawaii to Steven Klein’s 60′s French film shoot in New York (this month alone!) — what is next on your calendar to play with for the remainder of 2009?
I have spent the last three months going from project to project, I have not had a break but I feel more inspired than ever. I have a whole new series of mind blowing ideas. I feel very lucky. I look forward to the next process. I could never do something I did not believe in. I would feel like a fraud. I can see through stuff like that. That is not my world.
I am very lucky to work with people that I work with. The last three months have been extremely challenging in an excellent way. I have a few things up my sleeve. Wait and see, I hope you will like them.
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Mnemosyne will be launched September 4th on VanityFair.com and New York Times’ T Magazine.
For further information on the project, go to: The Mnemosyne Project.
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