All American by
Stetson
is the latest Stetson cologne to see the bright light of day. In
advertising images, the effort is spearheaded by the persona of
Patriots' quarterback
Tom Brady. Nothing unusual so far. Brady,
like actor Brad Pitt, seems to be the very mainstream, and for the most
part, convincing incarnation of the classic All-American folk hero, the
one who seems to have spent his childhood on a Midwestern farm running
on a background of cornfields before reaching for the stars and getting
national attention as the best possible outcome to the popular
successful-story master narrative, with roots.
All American Barn by Marty Martinez
But
what I find truly fascinating about this new mass-marketed cologne is
the way in which the successful contributions to America's perfume
culture that were made in the last few years by celebrities from
minority groups were purposefully taken into account and weaved into
the scent by perfumer
Harry Fremont of
Firmenich. Just
by reading the PR-released interview with him, I would have never
guessed. In fact I was wondering how to make use of one interview so
controlled was it in its tone, its total lack of spontaneity, a little
bit as if he were answering sitting in a confinement room in the
pressure atmosphere created by two former KGB operatives giving him the
steely eye each time he might be tempted to depart from the official
party line.
All
American is no old-fashioned Stetson cologne, or at least, the idea was
adapted. The idealized cowboy imagery is still up on the new billboards
(the folksy hat is gone but the rancher's gloves remain) but the
perfume itself has already started to smell like a mix of real-life
influences and cues taken from
Jennifer Lopez in her most Hispanic phase,
Sean John (see
review), and
Usher. They have all been very successful at impacting America's fragrance culture through the
celebrity-perfume niche.
I
am now starting to understand better in what ways celebrity perfume may
not be such a trivial topic as it is helping define America's identity
smell-wise. If you look at celebrity perfume developing as one of the
major entrepreneurial niches for minority celebrities; if you realize
that those celebrities brought different sensitivities to the notion of
a smell-good perfume; if you acknowledge the fact that American
olfactory culture has already been hit by the change...then one better
understands how mass-market gorilla Coty is making a politico-cultural
statement with Stetson All American. I would have never suspected that
so much could arise from the inclusion of a guava natureprint® note
(and other notes) spotted from early on. One could have just imagined a
slightly trendy and forward-thinking fruity men's scent along the lines
of
Calvin Klein Man (2007) and
The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana (2008), say...
Continue reading "Stetson All American (2009): The Smell of America's Melting Pot {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
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