Of the five senses, olfactory perception is most acute. The past can be relived in an instant with the merest inhalation.

Tokyo’s scents are provocative. That first whiff of natto (fermented soybeans), a common Japanese breakfast item, can be unpleasant, but unforgettable. Japanese Osmanthus trees that produce a strongly scented flower in the autumn engulf the city with their powerful, sweet fragrance that, once inhaled, is memorized and cherished for life.

Inspired by Tokyo’s fashion-forward areas, scent designer Kaori Oishi used essential oils and a blend of potpourri to create a palette of scents that evoke the characteristics of Aoyama, Jingumae, Nakameguro, Sarugakucho and Shimokitazawa.

Kaori’s name means ‘weaving fragrances’ in kanji (Chinese characters) and using Japanese ingredients like shiso and yuzu, she is fulfilling her destiny.

In order to recreate Tokyo’s “scent-scape” for Pret a Porter and its visitors, we drew inspiration from each area, putting together a list of adjectives that describe them.

Nakameguro, for example, to us felt “masculine and underground”. Using these basic references, Kaori put together her own checklist of words to create a picture to inspire her: roots, trees, leaves, earth, river, heavy and rubber. These translated into references of heavy woody notes, leather and patchouli scents to create a subtle but exciting fragrance.

Our perception of Aoyama was ‘conceptual design’. Kaori re-imagined this to be sophisticated, stylish, elegant, modern and white/silver. From a scent perspective, this was interpreted as a fragrance containing marine, floral and shiso notes.

Jingumae for us represented “up-and-coming fashion”. For Kaori the meaning was deeper: temple, wind, air, fresh, light, azure, transparent and edgy. Light woody notes and yuzu were chosen, yuzu because it’s more authentic a citrus note than lemon or bergamot.

Sarugakucho, incidentally close to the Five by Fifty office, is we think “quirky, cute and eccentric”, and for Kaori: powdery, calm, European and a “milky water reflection”. The scent produced is a aromatic and powdery with almond and mimosa notes.

Finally, Shimokitazawa, a “bohemian” area famous for vintage stores and popular with students, was imagined as: indies, noisy, vintage silk, heavy dried flowers, old clothes and papers, by Kaori. This was turned into a floral, spicy and oriental scent.

The final stage of this process involved Kaori blending wood resins and raisins to form a bespoke potpourri, adding each fragrance to create a custom blended scent that forms an olfactory image of Tokyo’s trendiest neighbourhoods. To learn more about this process, Kaori can be contacted at kaparfum [at] gmail.com