The American Society of Perfumers got a dose of rock ’n’ roll in the form of fashion designer John Varvatos, who accepted the society’s Legends Award during a luncheon held at Manhattan’s Marriott Marquis on Monday.
Also honored at the luncheon, which was part of the ASP’s 56th annual Fragrance Symposium, were Jack Mowen, formerly of Takasago International, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and James A. Krivda of Mane, who took home the society’s William Lambert Award.
“I guess I’ve never thought about myself as a legend,” said Varvatos during an interview before the luncheon, “but it’s an honor to be one.”
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The Legends Award, which is chosen by a panel of perfumers, awards an honoree for making a mark in fragrance history.
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“It says a lot about what we’ve accomplished from the industry perception,” Varvatos, who’s had his namesake fashion house for 10 years, said of the award. “[That] is always important — to have your peers look at you a certain way for what we’ve done both from the fashion and fragrance sides of the business.”
Every legend has “passion,” he said. “It’s something I live my life by. In 2004, people started calling me about doing a fragrance. It’s not something I wanted to do for sales, but something that [would be] very long lasting [as a business]. I felt like [a fragrance] had to have a soul, a heritage to it.”
Krivda, who is senior perfumer, vice president, Mane – New York Creative Studio, paid tribute to French master perfumer Elie Roger, formerly of Firmenich, as a key mentor in his career.
“Without Elie Roger, I wouldn’t be here,” Krivda remarked as he accepted the William Lambert Award. He also implored the gathering of roughly 275 perfumers and fragrance supply industry executives to work to strengthen the ASP, in light of the economic downturn.
While accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Mowen, who was formerly vice president of Creative Perfumery at Takasago International, contended it is “very important” that perfumers collaborate and not be “afraid to expand your horizons.”
He added that in his more than 25 years in the business, “I very much enjoyed sharing my knowledge around the world. I really appreciate you honoring me in this way.”