Jean-Marc Sinan: homeless perfumer, mine-worker, florist, intern at christian dior, youngest couturier in paris, furniture maker, arsonist

 

i have a bottle of v.o… 1/3 left maybe… i bought it at a small perfume shop in boston many years ago and i always loved the mysterious scent, but knew nothing about the brand. i bought it because it was reassuringly expensive (for the time) but also because it was truely different, like nothing else i had smelled. i had no idea who jean marc sinan was but i finally looked him up…

the story of this interesting character is a complicated and twisted one… but with thanks to sergey borisov we can now take a glimpse into sinan’s life. “born in 1951 in sham country (greater syria, or levante), he was a homeless london hippie from 1965 to 1967, then spent five years  practicing meditation in the southern algerian desert. he was then a mine-worker for 2 years…

 

mine-worker, florist, intern at christian dior, to youngest couturier in paris

 

and a florist for three years, then landed as an intern at christian dior for marc bohan for a year. leaving the house of dior in 1980, he opens his own couture maison in the 15th arrondissement of paris, where he was “rediscovered” by regular dior clients – and jean-marc becomes the youngest couturier in paris.

from 1981 to 1990 jean-marc sinan develops a holding company of his own name – among 70 companies that were created, including a perfume brand, which launched his first fragrances in 1984.

 

parfums jean-marc sinan paris

 

live and rejoice, you just made your way from desert dust to prosperous bourgeois! but… in 1990, he buys up all the stock of his inventory he could reach around the world – and mercilessly razed everything to the ground with a bulldozer in chartres.

now not a couturier or perfumer, he begins the early ’90s anew as an artist, sculptor and painter. travelling to new york, california, indian kerala, paris, italy, bahrain – he practices as an architect, sculptor, painter, furniture maker. he studied religion intensively and discovers his god, he then burns nearly a thousand of his paintings in india, started a family and starts painted a new.

 

limited edition rare perfumes in hand blown glass

 

he created his own contemporary art center in paris, with a holistic food restaurant. his paintings are devoted to the relationship between the human and the divine, and three fragrances in handmade bottles (lettre a une femme, par femme du coeur, paradise no people – the latter bottle in the form of a green cloud on wings carrying water to people).

 

from this story, it becomes clear why the old jean-marc sinan fragrances are so rare and iconic. they hadn’t been produced for long, only 6 years (1984-1990), and only the few bottles that weren’t destroyed in chartres have survived. his first women’s fragrance, sinan, is best known for its crescent-stemmed, green and spicy rose chypre with a thick animal base – but today i’d like to talk about his first men’s fragrance, v.o. jean-marc sinan.

 

v.o. version originale jean-marc sinan

fashion photograph for jean marc sinan paris 1987 and below v.o. jean-marc sinan: the brand’s first men’s fragrance

rare v.o bottle design : top notes: lavender, geranium, neroli, lemon and tangerine
middle notes: pepper, rose, jasmine, carnation, ylang-ylang and lily of the valley
base notes: musk, woody notes, cedar, sandalwood and tonka bean.

v.o. stands for version originale, as if the artist had been bored with numerous copies beforehand, even before the release of his original (?). and it is as rich and full-bodied a fragrance as a woman’s – it is created like a couple; its floral heart is similar to a woman’s fragrance (rose, geranium, jasmine, ylang ylang), but the whole composition is deployed in a dark, fougere direction. v.o. is one of those dark intense men’s fragrances that lived in black bottles in the 1980s.

a very roughly spicy scent (pepper, cumin, carnation), with a dab of dark greens (pine needles, wormwood) over powerful citrus and lavender in the beginning. with a sharp and sweet intoxicating accord in which geranium dominates over honeyed rose and sweet fir balsam supporting the coniferous pine needles – it smells like soap infused with crushed spices and pine needles. the dense, dark base of v.o. version originale, besides fir balsam, is a fusion of vetiver and patchouli, musk, coumarin and oak moss – a typical 1980s masculine fragrance uniform.

 

 

i find similarities with the old jules christian dior and macassar rochas, and in this comparison the original version looks heartier and warmer. one could say, more human and oriental. besides spicy-coniferous soap, the fragrance can be compared to some balsams of taiga origin, which have herbs, pine needles, spices and roots, and balsamic dense sweetness.
each person is reminded of something specific from the past – i recall the tart smell and taste of balsam made of rhodeola rosea roots, the popular siberian alcohol-based potion. it’s a dark brown liquid of folk medicine, which was splashed into the sweetened taiga tea to lift the spirits of hunters and tourists in the middle of the day.

 

 

the artist himself at his 70+ years still works as evidenced by his website : jeanmarc sinan.com , there’s a permanent exhibition in his art center, the restaurant eat god and art has a permanent menu (dishes are prepared by the artist with his wife) and there are three fragrances on sale – their half-kilogram glass bottles were blown by the designer himself and then signed with his own hand.

the fragrance v.o. version originale jean-marc sinan can still be found on online auctions, but the price goes up to $599, although it is possible to find some cheaper bottles,  the most inexpensive option is the mini-bottles… just be weary of the fake copies as there are many. by uh

inside jim jarmusch’s new collab with the skateroom

the collaboration includes an unreleased series of the filmmaker’s photographs printed on skate decks

as well as an exclusive short film of miami skateboarder beatrice domond shot by jarmusch himself

a short film by jim jarmusch, starring beatrice domond

jim jarmusch, the acclaimed filmmaker and visual artist, is a self-proclaimed night owl. his best ideas and most creative revelations come to him after dark which, in a remarkable way, really translates into the atmosphere of his projects. one such project was the rare photography series taken by him in the 1980s. jarmusch repeatedly captured the screen of an analogue television while watching a vast repertoire of black-and-white films. the result was a selection of intuitively taken snapshots, hidden in the archives until now. four decades later, the skateroom is proud to feature those captivating works in our first skate art collection with the iconic filmmaker. a nod to jarmusch’s collage-making practice, the photographs have been featured on skate decks in seemingly random sets of threes. whether their placement seems contrasting or connected is up to the eye of the viewer. the artist himself refers to the process as more dreamlike than logical, with the dark background of each board adding to the mysterious effect. as with all collections from the skateroom, this collaboration will contribute to the funding of skatepark construction and educational initiatives for underprivileged youth worldwide. purchasing an edition is not only a chance to own a unique artwork from jim jarmusch, but also an opportunity to make a tangible impact, one skate deck at a time. by nwa

24 hours war : ferrari battle with ford at the lemans – a documentary film by nate adams and adam carilla

enzo ferrari sporting a good year jacket

ferrari 330 P4 lemans 1967

only one company wins 1st

“24 hours war” a documentary film by nate adams and adam carilla

 

great companion to the ford vs ferrari film  – this documentary was made prior to the actual film and gives actual first hand stories of what actually took place before and on the race day. in the early 1960s, henry ford II and enzo ferrari went to war on the battlefield of le mans and tested the limits of international racing. this epic battle saw drivers lose their lives, family dynasties nearly collapse and two giant of car manufacturers develop their finest cars. by uh

we now have the technology – in beta mode: floppy disc, oscilloscope, pc, techmoan… go!

thanks to jerobeam fenderson of oscilloscope music (oscilloscope music – intersect)

demonstration on how exactly it works (N-SPHERES – jeroboam henderson)

halfway between noise music, experimental and techno, the folks at oscilloscope music have a floppy disc based app for mac and pc that creates graphics on a hardware oscilloscope using just the audio content. for those without one of these ancient devices it emulates the oscilloscope graphics conveniently on your computer screen. as seen demonstrated on techmoan. for more of this and other rarities visit bkbunnyland. by bb

spoiled child: always at the the right place, at the right time… again

“pop fashion rebel” jeremy scott showed up for his “spoiled child” launch in NYC

good music…

 

good drinks…

good skin…

good fun…

all for the future of wellness… at spoiled child where you can find everything…

from $45 hair masks, to $89 drinks, to $58 skincare, to $350 hoodies. there is even an $89 yoga mat for your consideration.

jeremy was to fashion what sex pistols were to music, or warhol to heavy art. he was one of the first to mash up adidas with designer fashion. made bad, look good (we wont forgive you for that j). made moschino well more moschino…. of course today all that seems par for the course… but somebody had to wear that safety pin first. seems like a long way to go to get here with wellness and all – but i suppose the whole kidrobot, BBC, glossed up jeff koons spaceman makes total sense for a face-cream, if its from the prince of pop. right? kiss! kiss! bang! bang! photo credit: matt weinberger. by kgb

ian brown: your brilliant but yo voice ain’t that good

ian brown formally of stone roses

documentary worth a watch (the works 2000)

 and here’s tony wilson of granada (also owner of factory records – hello!) – LOL – hi tony!


and finally a BBC docu on the stone roses

the stone roses, along with other bands like happy mondays and james, helped to define the madchester scene, a vibrant and influential period in british music. you hear that oasis? liam’s gonna have somethin’ to say… by ar