Q&A With Josh Smith

What are you most proud of in your fragrance career?

I try to take the time to appreciate the work that is involved in every release but there are always new projects pushing me forward so I spend less time celebrating than I could. I think I am most proud when I hear that someone has created a deep connection with one of my scents. They all mean something to me but it is surprising and lovely to hear when other people really deeply connect with it.

Were you into fragrance as a child?

I became interested in perfume while at university for design. I was never really particularly into fragrance before then. I had a bottle of Burberry Brit I had bought when I was 18 that I occasionally wore on dates. It was in design that I really began exploring communication through the senses and the interest in scent was piqued. We focussed so much on the shape and texture of items, it seemed like scent was this great, expressive medium that design wasn’t focussed on.

What does Alberta smell like to you? 

It depends on the time of year as our seasons are so extreme but Alberta at it’s most fragrant smells to me like hot grass and Balsam poplar buds (called cottonwood elsewhere I believe). The province is massive and covers many different ecosystems but I think those smells typify Alberta at its best.

What are some of your artistic or designer influences?

There are so many contemporary ones but I also really love and was inspired for Libertine by much of the European art styles of the late 19th century. It was such a frantic time with so much changing in society and art. Representational traditions were starting to ease and there was an interesting contrast between the Victorian stuffiness of the time and the very direct sexuality in the arts. 

Who are some of your favorite artists?

From the period I described having an influence on Libertine, Gustave Moreau, Edward Manet and many of the designers from the Vienna Secession. For more contemporary artists, I love the work of Richard Prince, Gavin Turk, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Adams.