Collection

Long before Proust's madeleine or modern discoveries of its intimate connection in the brain to memory and emotion, smell held an important place in many cultures for thousands of years. Considered a second-tier sense with the violent upheavals of modernity, it is perhaps for the very reason that it can be neither seen nor heard that fragrance has such important functions within various traditions of spiritual and religious practice. 

With products designed specifically for many of the different spaces we inhabit on a daily basis, since 2009, Tokyo-based retaW have sought to touch all aspects of life with scent. Their broad range of products—from car air freshener to room spray to candles—are developed with the latest dermatological innovations in mind and imbued with a selection of purposefully developed fragrances, each of which is designed to conjure what is most elemental—retaW is water, backwards, after all.

The Product

retaW's range of fabric sprays presents an innovative new way to wear the label's range of specially developed scents. Infusing clothing with one of retaW's signature subtle aromas can complement fragrance worn on the skin, creating alluring layers of fragrance around the body: as surrounding air passes through clothing, the fabric spray will be the first scent that those in your company notice. Those that get closer, however, will notice the shift between fragrances, namely the difference between the scent circulated by the wind, and that more intimate fragrance, unique when combined with your skin. On a more practical level, many garments don't take well to frequent washing, the main way we deodorize our clothing. retaW Fabric Sprays provide a new solution to this problem, deodorizing and disinfecting as they breathe new life into clothing with classic retaW scents.

Despite the obvious appeal of retaW fabric sprays for worn garments, they need not be restricted to clothing; they may be used to invigorate any fabrics, and given the active anti-bacterial agent included in the formula, they're perfectly suited to use around the home on cushions, carpets, sofa covers, bedsheets, and many other household washables.

The Fragrance

Emboldened by coastal winds, the acidic aromas from a neighboring citrus orchard saunter across the gentle warmth of an olive grove under the summer afternoon sun; the top notes of the Oyl scent reveal beneath them a complex, structured fragrance that nonetheless maintains a sense of organic instability in its layers. Mounting from a base of frankincense, amber, musk, and cedarwood, this retaW scent evokes the hinterland of the Mediterranean littoral at the pace of a stroll through cedar forests and ancient farmlands. Though we might locate the notes of jasmine, rose, and pine in the middle of this scent—drawn as they are from that which we see at eye level in our wandering—this kindred set of tones refuses its allocation, straying from centre looking out, elusive as memories of a distant land.

Volume: 4.2 fl. oz. (120ml).

Made in Japan.