Scent and Style in the Disco Era
Taught by Jessica Murphy
Jessica Murphy is an art historian and museum professional with a longtime passion for perfume. She's been a contributor at the blog Now Smell This since 2007, and since 2015 she's been giving presentations about the cultural history of fragrance via the Institute for Art and Olfaction, the Brooklyn Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass, and other venues. Her writing about scent has appeared in Atlas Obscura and Viscose Journal and she's been interviewed by Vogue, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Harper’s Bazaar, Decoder Ring, and other media outlets. She shares her thoughts on olfactory and visual topics at her Substack, Show & Smell.
You might have a good idea how the disco era sounded or how it dressed…but how did it smell? All jokes about drugs and cigarette smoke aside, the late 1970s was a rich moment for perfumery: new choices abounded, and fragrance was an important accessory for a night on the dance floor.
This illustrated talk will share the stories behind some of the best-selling scents of the 70s, from the big names on their labels to the famous faces that graced their ads. When Sister Sledge sang the words “Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci,” they were talking about fashion but they just as well could have been naming some fragrances. How did scent and style overlap in this cultural moment? What was the unofficial signature fragrance of Studio 54? And how can you still spritz on a disco-inspired perfume, when we’re in the mood to go out and celebrate good times again?
Drop in and find out.
