GALLIVANT Bukhara via GALLIVANT

 

Since 2017, Nick Steward, the creative director of the multi award winning GALLIVANT has transported us to eight well-known cities: Brooklyn, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Los Angeles.  As of October 2020, we will embark on a new journey to a city many of our readers may not be familiar with- we travel to Uzbekistan through GALLIVANT Bukhara  which will be launched as the 9th fragrance.

Photo from Nick’s Trip

“I travelled to Bukhara, Uzbekistan in early 2019 (doesn’t that feel like another lifetime now?), across Central Asia in fact, and it was just the most marvelous eye-opening adventure. Exhilarating – as travel is meant to be – it felt wonderful to be alive and see the world from a completely different perspective. So it was as simple as that: I wanted to shine a little light on the place, get people to think, even if just for a moment, about that part of the world” …

Ralf Schwieger of MANE

I created GALLIVANT Bukhara with Ralf Schwieger, who is an old friend … I think that’s the common thread with the perfumers I choose to work with. Why not work with talented clever people you like (and admire), people you’d break bread with? -Nick Steward, (in an email to Michelyn)

Map of The Spice Route courtesy of Nick Steward

“Cotton fields, the arid earth brought to life with irrigation canals. Dry and crumbling city walls. Minarets and madrassas, peaceful inner courtyards. The trickle of water in fountains.  Deserted alleys, white houses with pale blue doors, bleached by the sun and heat. Dust in the narrow streets. Children laughing, playing in the shade. A kaleidoscope of faces: Uzbek, Tajik, Turkic, Persian, Chinese, Mongol, Russian, …. Evidence of a melting-pot culture – this is no backwater.”A chalk-pale city, clay and brick houses whitewashed to guard against the sun.

photo by Nick

A thousand shrines, and turquoise tiles. Old Soviet books being sold alongside silks and spices and the traditional karakul fur (think Astrakhan hats and coats). Private patios, vines overhead. Mulberry trees. The pleasures of the table – apricots, pears, and the local specialty – called ‘shurdanak’ – roasted and salted apricot seeds. Cucumbers and carrots in the markets. A convivial, open city of artisans and workshops. A feeling of the vastness of Central Asia, the endless horizons of Uzbekistan, this double-landlocked country.  And a sense of the desert beyond the city, and the promise of adventure”.

Nick Steward in Bukhara via Nick

“I’m so happy Ralf worked with us to bring GALLIVANT BUKHARA to life. He’s obviously famous, especially for his work for Frederic Malle and Hermès, among many others, so I feel very proud that he agreed; as we’re a young, emerging brand. I’ve always appreciated Ralf’s sense of humor, his relaxed approach to his craft (and his evident talent), married with his precision, as well as his impish sense of fun and curiosity.”

Adds Ralf “Of course I was intrigued and curious – I love to travel, but I didn’t know Uzbekistan or Bukhara – so it’s been a total journey of discovery for me too.”

Passport to Bukhara

GALLIVANT Bukhara is woody, spicy and earthy perfume, composed around the enigmatic orris – one of perfumery’s most prized (and expensive) raw materials.

Photo by Nick

Spicy, fruity and sparkling in the opening with notes of caraway, pear, coriander and bergamot.  A floral woody heart with orris and a touch of jasmine – the latter a nod to the Persian influences in this part of the world. Clove and apricot enrich the colours and textures, with a base of benzoin resin, saffron, amber, wood and cotton-soft musks.

–Michelyn Camen, Editor-in Chief via email, press release and my own synopsis.

Editor’s note:  Nick Steward has two decades of hands-on experience in perfume making and was product and creative director of the pioneering niche house L’Artisan Parfumeur, Paris, which is when I first met him.

Sulamita

There’s also a back-story, to a darker time in history. Nick dedicates GALLIVANT Bukhara to Sulamita, who found refuge in the city during the darkest days of WWII. Listening to those distant memories, of a great journey, of finding a haven in Bukhara, in Uzbekistan, during the Second World War was the starting point for his own journey.

Available on GALLIVANT-perfumes.com  and retailers globally as of October, 2020; £65 for a travel-friendly 30ml Eau de Parfum

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