Wieden+Kennedy and Golgotha launch an “eyeball-melting” film for Formula 1’s new range of fragrances

Think of Formula 1 and you instantly picture cars; rightly so considering it's the most recognisable racing car competition in the world. But now you can add some scent to that imagery, as the premier open-wheel, single-seater racing company has launched F1 Fragrances – a new perfume range and film launched in collaboration with Wieden+Kennedy London and Paris-based design studio Golgotha.

The film has been created to represent the look, feel and smell of the new range. Navigating around its five scents created exclusively with Designer perfumes, the campaign pulls cues from the sport and robust, metallic nature of cars. This has in turn formed a compilation of “eyeball-melting, jugular-grabbing” visuals, all of which embody the engineering of F1.

The aromas from the range include Precious Mettle, a "modern metallic twist on classic woody scents”, as described on the website; Turn, an “essence of F1, with accords of burning rubber and salty asphalt”; Overtake 320 an “intense modernisation of amber, with dark woods”; Neeeum White, an “audacious re-interpretation of the fougère with a floral twist”; and Carbon Reign, an “aromatic built around a prismatic champagne accord.”

Further detailing the inspiration behind the visuals, Precious Mettle has been deemed as “a fresh, intense, woody fragrance with a metallic twist that represents the courageousness required from drivers as they line up on the grid,” says the company in its release. Turn 1, has also been described as “an avant grade composition, with inimitable accords of burning rubber and rain on salty asphalt, honouring the performance and determination of powering through the first corner.”

In terms of the bottle design specifically, designer Ross Lovegrove has created series of 3D printed capsules, infusing tech with materials and science. The result is an exoskeleton, an interchangeable bottle inspired by “the elegant lines of the F1 car chassis,” as detailed on the site, placing emphasis on “fluid symmetry”, “compact suspension”, “agile embrace” and “engineered collection”.

Aaron Skipper, designer director at Wieden+Kennedy adds: “We wanted to show the world the essence of Formula 1 – taking the engineered insanity of the sport, bottling it, and combining the untamed energy of the sport with the world of luxury fragrances.” A completely unique collaboration, the fragrance range sees the Wieden+Kennedy team “recreate the wild journey of an F1 race with artistic representations of the fragrance notes,” continues Aaron. “Imagine if you threw perfume bottles out of an F1 car at 220mph. As soon as we landed on the narrative of the film, we knew Golgotha was the perfect partner.” The full collaborative film can be watched above.