CARL JAN CRUZ Cream pique dastee and stripe pique, Birch Shyorts. Photo by Jake Versoza
For Carl Jan Cruz, scents add complexity to his creative process.
For fashion designer Carl Jan Cruz, each scent possesses a distinct memory.
Through his partner, his understanding of the nuances of fragrance deepened. “I was introduced to the layers and got a better context of every scent’s meaning,” he says. Dried eucalyptus, narra wood and kalachuchi resonate with the designer. Oud is one of his favorite notes. “It’s grounding,” he explains.
Nostalgia plays the hero in his scent preferences. “My first bottle was a baby cologne and I found a similar scent from CDG’s Cologne Vettiveru.” If he were to create his own scent, he says that he would like the smell to remind him of his brand’s own memories. It would be “depicting fabric storages, rubber cutting mat, oiled sewing machines, industrial press and the occasional meals taken at work. Notes would still be unknown but I know those are the driving themes.”
As part of the new generation shaping Filipino fashion, Carl Jan Cruz approaches design on his own terms. He says that scents add another layer to his creativity. “Scents bring out abstract thought in my work process,” he emphasizes. L’artisan Timbuktu is the fragrance that speaks to Cruz personally. “I feel like myself when I wear it wherever, whenever.”
This story originally appeared in Vogue Philippines September 2022 Issue
