SheBreathes™ | Fashion + Culture

The Launch | Six Scents Series Three

Recently, I attended the Six Scents Series Three launch event, because you can't go wrong merging fashion and perfume, especially when both are married in an effort to celebrate creativity, and bring awareness to a charitable cause.

Each year the co-Founder of Six Scents, Joseph Quartana skillfully recruits six of the top artists and perfumers to collaborate on a limited-edition fragrance, where a percentage of proceeds will go towards a charity, and for this series War Child International will benefit.

Upon entering the venue I noticed a series of short films, created exclusively to coincide with the line of perfumes, along with a documentary trailer of the creative process streaming on the wall. My eyes were glued to the short with Julia Roitfeld draped in an all white lace hijab — the story was edited by teen fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson. This year Givaudan perfumers were paired with fashion designers Alexis Mabille, Mary Katrantzou, Juun. J, Rad Hourani, N. Hollywood, and Ohne Titel. Their task was to explore the nature of childhood memories and the influence of adolescence on identity. My favorite scent was entitled M by Ohne Titel and Yann Vasnier. It was a mix of cardamom, safraleine and leather materials — truly divine.

Fotos © SheBreathes | Video Courtesy of SIx Scents

From Trash to Treasure | Waste Land

In an effort to balance out the fashion with a bit more culture {expect more of this}, I wanted to introduce Waste Land, a film directed by Lucy Walker. It's a documentary that highlights the catadores {human scavengers}, that rummage through the Jardim Gramacho in Rio — the largest landfill in the world. The film spans three years and follows several individuals, that you'll be inspired by. Many of these catadores live in the favelas in Rio, and are paid a commission for their finds. The film also documents Brooklyn-based Brasilian artist Vik Muniz’s project of creating over-sized portraits of the catadores out of the recyclables that they spend their days collecting. It explores what happens there, but more importantly it reveals Brasil’s poverty without the Cidade De Deus {City of God} flair, which to me is the most important aspect. I can only hope people who see this film are inspired beyond what they've heard, or hear about Brasil and povery, because there is plenty to chew on. I had the pleasure of seeing this film last Friday when it opened at the Angelika Film Center in NYC. As a Brasilian it brought tears to me eyes. Finally, there is a film that I believe speaks what I know to be true about millions of Brasilians — that beyond the fantasy they are resilient and beautiful, despite their socio-economic status. And that art has the power to transform an entire nation.

Visit here for a list of screenings. Do let me know if you've seen it, or will.

Fotos Courtesy of Vik Muniz/Waste Land Movie