Brand Portrait: Der Duft
Der Duft: Perfumes that tell their own stories
"Der Duft" (German for "the scent"): A name could hardly express more precisely what perfume is all about. And in fact, the simple brand name is no coincidence: together with the minimalist presentation in unadorned flacons and plain, white packaging, Der Duft focuses on the essential - on... the fragrance. No pompous detail should distract from it, all spotlights are focused on it.
Der Duft is an idea by Anselm Skogstad. The German-American artist and photojournalist from Munich studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and the School of Visual Art in New York, worked for the American star photographers Christopher Makos and David Lachapelle - and for Magnum Photos, where he laid the foundation for his artistic work.
Anselm Skogstad's special connection to fragrance goes back to his childhood days. Back then, he amazed his family with a special sensitivity to scents. As an adolescent, he began collecting perfumes, fascinated by their inherent combination of olfactory and aesthetic beauty.
Later his passion for fragrances was further stimulated during photographic projects in Asia - and during a stay in Grasse. In that secret world capital of perfumery in southern France, he was able to gain deeper insights into the conception and production of perfumes.
Working on projects in America, Europe, Africa and Asia, Anselm Skogstad has developed his own photographic style over time, which expresses the character of people and their lifestyle, but also general abstract ideas. He also incorporates this concept into the perfumes of Der Duft, which are created in collaboration with perfumers and creative people such as Nathalie Feistauer, Anne Sophie Behagel, Freddie Albrighton, Miguel Matos or Prin Lomros.
The backgrounds of the perfume creators of Der Duft could hardly be more different. As with the label founder Anselm Skogstad, they often mix different creative passions and professions, which also include perspectives beyond the art of perfumery. They are all, in their own way, "out-of-the-box perfumers" - who are also, but by no means only enthusiastic about fragrances.
There is, for example, Freddie Albrighton, who first of all is a renowned tattoo artist - and released his first perfume collection in 2021. Or the Thai perfumer Prin Lomros - who is also a filmmaker and says of himself: "The reason why I create perfumes is simple: I have stories to tell! I believe making perfumes is another method of narrative art, one that is even more challenging than movie-making."
And true to this idea, every creation by Der Duft has its own story. A story that does not need many words. A story told by the perfume itself.
