D L Roelen Review – 2019

Where does the time go? Towards the end of 2019, I had the pleasure not just of wandering around Berlin but, while I was there, of popping into the studio of David Lucan Roelen, founder and creative director of the brand D L Roelen. We spent an hour or so chatting about and smelling his work, he kindly gave me a few sample vials, and I bid him a fond farewell, confident that I’d be writing about his wares before too long. And then, as you know, various events occurred. And the world was turned on its head.

In recent weeks (because I’ve been overcome by the desire to travel again?), I’ve found myself returning to those vials. Each time I’ve done so, I’ve been struck by the same thought that I had when I encountered Roelen’s work in his little studio: perhaps inspired by his adopted city’s well-documented embrace of extremes, he has made a striking effort to imbue his scents with strong contrasts. His perfumes may not shout, but they all display a legible and commendable balance of the intriguing ideas they aim to present.

Perhaps the clearest example of this can be seen in Ambivalence where the green, sulphurous razor-bite of grapefruit scores its way across the surface of scorched, warped plastic and inky mosses. In Crystal Haze (notice the paradox inherent in the name), the medicinal, paint-stripping harshness of surgical spirit is superbly juxtaposed against citrus peel, waxy aldehydes and steamed musks. The Door is perhaps the straightest of the quintet I’ve tried, but even here, the dangerous, fetishistic rubberiness is pulled up sharp against the more spiritual hum of incense.

I can’t say I have a definite favourite from the brand – each of its releases has something noteworthy to offer – but if I can be permitted to choose two, they’d probably be the couple that most overtly play the gender-bending card. Much like fashion design, perfumery is well placed to challenge and subvert male/female stereotypes, a capability that Roelen explores in the aptly-named Flower Boy. With a modus operandi not too dissimilar to that of Moschino Toy Boy, this is an edgily elegant piece of work in which the traditionally masculine base notes of tobacco and patchouli have a tongue stuck out at them by capricious florals.

Finally there’s Broken Bouquet. As it approaches its drydown, it may move closer and closer to the familiar territory of the Grand Arabian Rose, but the path it takes to get there is intriguing, employing strange, sour, acidic notes at the start to suggest sentiments that are as sincere as they tear-soaked. A broken bouquet indeed, and all the more fascinating for it. I shall watch Roelen’s future output with great interest.

Persolaise

[D L Roelen review based on samples provided by the brand in 2019.]

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