Photographer Gaia Bonanomi – Talent Ambra Martone – Interview by Marco Martello
First things first, what’s your earliest smell-related memory?
To be honest, it’s a very difficult question for me. I was born into perfume, and I have no memory of the first, conscious moment of encounter with the world of fragrance. In fact, you could say that perfume was my amniotic fluid. To answer your question, I’d mention the smell of the place where we are right now, which used to be the Marvin factory. As a child, I’d come here with my dad and sister every now and then. I remember that Giorgia and I were, of course, greeted with joy by everyone at the factory, and the smells. Alcohol, raw materials, and moisturiser, which is a very characteristic scent for us and is related to all the line extensions we work on.
When you were a child, your father, Roberto Martone, brought home a box containing the finalists of the Premio Accademia del Profumo’s first edition. Do you remember how it felt to open it?
I was seven or eight years old when that happened, and I still remember how excited I was. My dad brought home the most successful launches to try and study them, as they were competing to be awarded the best perfume of the year prize. That box was not meant as a gift for me, but it still contained a whole world inside, and I was very intrigued by it.
That being said, what’s a smell that reminds you of the music you listened to when you were a teenager?
I’ve always loved 70s and 80s Italian music, and more specifically, singers with an energetic, gritty and quite dramatic voice, such as Rino Gaetano. If I had to translate all of that into a perfume, I’d say a bright, salty, and lively fragrance that’s perfect for summertime. I’m probably influenced by the fact that in the summer months I used to listen to music tapes while driving my car with the windows wide open.
In the 40s your grandfather Vincenzo founded Marvin, a company that specialised in the making of drugs and cosmetics, and 30 years later your father Roberto took the reins. Turning the family business into ICR Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite, a leading company in the world of luxury fragrances. Perfume runs through your veins, but have you ever felt the pressure of that legacy?
No, absolutely not. I’ve always seen it as a privilege, you know? Of course, it takes commitment, but it doesn’t weigh down on me. The only time where I felt some kind of pressure was when my sister passed away, as I always thought it would’ve been the two of us carrying forward the family business. My family are very active, they’re proper entrepreneurs, and I’m very lucky to have them, but it was tough…and I had to change my perspective, as I was sure my sister and I would conquer the world together!
After graduating from Milan’s Bocconi University in Management for the Arts, Culture and Communication, you left for you New York City, where you did an internship at Firmenich, leading fragrance and flavour company. What’s the most important thing you learnt during that early work experience?
That’s right. When I started my internship at Firmenich, I was a Bocconi graduate. Back then I already knew a thing or two about perfumery, as both my sister and I took many olfactory courses when we were teenagers. Starting from the Givaudan one, that’s one of the most renowned trainings. Entering through the doors of a company that specialises in the creation of perfumes allowed me to learn so much about this world: I was lucky enough to have as mentors some of the biggest names in the industry. Sabine de Tscharner, who was in charge of fragrance training, took me under her wing and taught me all there’s to know, from a professional standpoint, about the history of perfumery, the raw materials, the accords, and the extraction techniques. This in-house course, which was full of interesting anecdotes and personal stories, lasted three years. I also had the privilege to meet Annie Buzantian, who was the first woman in the world to be recognised by a perfume house as a Master Perfumer. She’s the one who really showed me how a perfume is subjective. One day we were smelling a perfume she had created in the late 80s. It was one of those heavy, oriental fragrances, you know? And I was in love with it, as that was the kind of scents I was leaning towards in those days. All of a sudden, she told me that when she created that perfume she was a smoker and couldn’t smell it, but she thought it was so vulgar. I was a little embarrassed, but that moment really taught me that there’s no right or wrong, and it helped me continue my journey with a different perspective. I’d also like to mention Master Perfumer Harry Fremont. I remember that when I entered his office, I’d always find him laying on the floor: we were in a skyscraper, and he needed to feel the earth. This is just to say that these people have a different kind of sensibility, and there’s no marketing gimmick involved.
In 2013 you founded, together with your sister Giorgia, niche perfume brand LabSolue. Among the noses you chose for the creation of the brand’s offering, who did you feel an instant connection and become friends with?
There’s too many to pick just one, so I’ll say three. I’ll start with Maurice Roucel, who was my sister’s mentor during her internship at Symrise in New York City. He already knew our father quite well, as they had worked together on a few projects, and over time he’s become a friend of ours. For LabSolue, he created an iris-based fragrance, drawing inspiration from his favourite note and the one that’s in the perfume he wears on a daily basis. Then I’ll say Daphné Bugey, as we grew up together in New York City. Back then she met her now husband, who was friends with my sister’s boyfriend and together they founded Le Labo. Daphné is the one we asked to create ‘Honorable 1947’, the brand’s very first perfume. The third one is very hard to choose. Let me just mention Emilie Coppermann, Alexandra Carlin, and Pierre Guerós!
Taking a step back, in America you met Paolo, who’s now your husband and the father of your three children. What do you dream for the future of Gregorio, Allegra and Tancredi? Have you introduced them to the world of perfume, just like your father did with you?
Yes, for sure! I often ask them to smell perfumes and tell me which one they like best, you know? They’re a bit worried now, as they don’t know how to tell me that they might want to explore other fields, but the only thing I really want is for them to find their path in life and walk it. After all, I’ve always said that I’d let them be free to choose what they want.
Ambra, the LabSolue project was built on the celebration of Italian craftsmanship, beauty and elegance. When it comes to perfumes, do you think the final customer perceives Made in Italy as an added value?
I think so, yes. Perhaps it’s not as evident as in design, fashion or automotive, but when it’s there, people will recognise and respond to it. Especially today, where there’s a trend of very strong, impactful fragrances that don’t have much to do with our concept of elegance. My way of explaining our product and how it differs from the alternatives on the market is by saying that what we stand for is exactly Italian elegance. When I do that, everyone seems to get what I’m talking about right away.
The former Marvin factory was turned into a five-star hotel dedicated to the world of fragrance: olfactory check-ins, scented cocktails and aromatherapy massages are all part of the hotel’s offering. What’s the drink, among the ones mixologist Riccardo Savà created exclusively for Magna Pars, you can’t resist?
I have no doubts about this! (Laughs, E.D.) My favourite drink, which was created by our mixologist Riccardo Savà in collaboration with French nose Alexandra Carlin, is 208 Cipriolo. They started from the Margarita cocktail, which is one of the drinks I like best, and created a nice contrast between a sense of freshness, that’s given by basil, and something that’s more leaning towards the spicy and woody side of things. You really have to try it!
That’s for sure, I’ll be back and give it a go! To end on a different note, could you give us a sneak peek at the next LabSolue release by sharing with us the colour, or texture, you’d associate with that perfume?
The texture would be very peculiar, as this fragrance sits in between a rock and a star for me. As to the colour, it would a very mystic one like pale gold or champagne.