Behind the scenes of our collaboration with OROTON
As Australia’s oldest luxury fashion company, OROTON is truly an icon of antipodean design, known for its sophisticated style and premium leather goods. To this storied history, creative director Sophie Holt has brought a fresh and vibrant spirit along with an expanded range of fashion and accessories.
To complement the Resort collection of breezy bags and garden-party florals, Oroton has released a trio of exclusive candle scents in collaboration with LUMIRA: Flower Market, Fig Tree and Campfire.
“Working with LUMIRA allowed us to explore the idea that fragrance can indeed be evocative and capture a mood in harmony with our design vision at OROTON – a kind of sensory extension to the Resort collection, if you like,” says Holt. “I’m intrigued by the fact that a scent can take you somewhere, transport you back to a moment of joy or nostalgia, and LUMIRA was able to capture that sentiment in the three candle fragrances. There is a wonderful feeling of lightness and freshness to the collection.”
Here, Holt shares her experience of seeing her design vision realised through scent.
Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for the current Resort collection?
There’s a sense of energy throughout the collection. We were thinking about spending an afternoon outside in the garden, a taste of slow days ahead, of recharging and how it felt, and as always, colour was my starting point. It was important to consider the idea of moving on from a year of comfortable dressing towards a mood that felt lighter and full of possibility.
The collection is called The Optimist. How do you think this optimistic spirit was captured in the three candle scents?
The idea of vitality and hope was a recurring theme for Resort, translated via a bright palette and nostalgic prints. That spirit also comes to life in the layering of the candle’s top notes – in the same way that our palette works to make the collection feel energised, so to do the fragrance compositions that are unexpected and intriguing.
How and when are you burning each of the three candles?
My go-to candle is Flower Market as it has a wildly bright bouquet, combining the delicacy of rose, jasmine and gardenia, which is great for an everyday fresh scent around the house. Fig Tree is perfect for an afternoon lying around reading a book with its milky notes of fig fruit and warmth of cedarwood, violet and jasmine. Campfire has a warm seductive fragrance, evoking notes of musk and woods, which is perfect for a relaxing and cosy night in.
Sustainability is an important value that OROTON and LUMIRA share. Can you tell us about your philosophy and some of the practices that have been introduced at the company?
When we consider what makes a collection feel right for the times, form and function are certainly key, but we’re also continually thinking about sustainability and innovation, and how we can better what we do at every link in the chain. This year, we introduced our Hemp Black collection made from hemp and recycled bottles; the project was two years in the making but it marked an important step forward for our company. It’s a journey that really inspires me.
The OROTON X LUMIRA trio of candles are exclusively available from Oroton boutiques and oroton.com
Written by Michelle Bateman
