A perfume that smells like a book!

Inspired by German publisher Gerhard Steidl’s comments that his favourite scent was a freshly printed book.

Inspired by German publisher Gerhard Steidl’s comments that his favourite scent was a freshly printed book, Wallpaper magazine has launched Paper Passion, a perfume capturing the unique odour. The idea for the perfume was conceived at last year’s Wallpaper Handmade exhibition in Milan, when the international design and style bible took inspiration from Steidl’s comments in the film, How to Make a Book with Steidl.

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The magazine subsequently asked Steidl to work with avant-garde perfumer Geza Schoen to try and bottle that scent — while Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld came on board to design the packaging and came up with the name Paper Passion.

The final result, which was featured in the annual handmade issue of Wallpaper, goes on sale online and in select concept stores, bookshops and perfumeries across the world, retailing at US $98 (R5,500). Schoen created the perfume with ingredients including ethyl linoleate and a selection of woody components to add dryness, though capturing the unique scent was a tricky experience. “The smell of printed paper is dry and fatty; they are not notes you often work with,” he said.

In terms of packaging, Lagerfeld instantly visualised a real book with pages and a hidden cut-out compartment to house the perfume bottle in the middle. There are short essays at the front of the book. “Beautiful paper is for me the top of luxury,” says Lagerfeld, adding, “I am a paper freak. It’s a physical passion. I cannot live without paper. Touching perfect paper has something sensuous about it”.