The Perfume Academy is working with leading professionals in the performing arts on the premiere of a theatrical work that will combine a fusion of music, dance and projections, which will be the eagerly awaited presentation of its annual awards for the best perfumes of the year, already considered "the Oscars of perfume", with 16 years of experience. The gala will be streamed so that it is accessible to all perfume and culture lovers who wish to watch it live.
The theatrical art show will combine music, dance and projections and is inspired by Dominique Roques' "The Essence Seeker". It will take the audience on an exciting journey from the origins of the crops and their communities, in a tribute to all the perfume trades and their popular traditions. The Perfume Academy has chosen Iván Sánchez for his versatility as an actor, passionate about travelling around the world and at the same time with a great sensitivity and love for perfume. He will represent this "traveller" who travels the world in search of the best natural essences.
The Academy's annual awards seek to bring perfume culture closer to society, recognising the diversity of creations and options for all audiences, from the most accessible to the most exclusive in the different award categories: lifestyle perfume, perfume of the year, iconic perfume, niche and collection perfume, home perfume, as well as design, campaign or innovation and sustainability.
These awards have different phases and juries in a demanding process of evaluation of the best perfumes. This year, the Art and Culture Jury has been updated with new disciplines and talents including Antonio Najarro (dancer, choreographer, artistic director and lecturer), Lorenzo Caprile (dressmaker), Natalia Verbee (actress), Espido Freire (writer and populariser), Topacio Fresh (artist), Moisés Nieto (designer), Silvia García (sommelier), Sara Andrés (Paralympic athlete, Javier Ruiz (journalist and writer), Ramón Freixa (chef), Jesús Mº Montes-Fernández (journalist), Concha de la Rosa (photographer), Evelio Acevedo (director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum), Edgar Martín (orchestra conductor and music populariser), María Rodés (composer and singer) and Val Díez (Vice-President and Executive Director of the Academy and Managing Director of Stanpa). The winners will be unveiled at the gala and will receive a sustainable statuette, renovated with recycled materials. In addition, the "top winners", all those candidates who have made it to the final podium, will receive a handmade piece of solidarity created by people with intellectual disabilities from Fundación a la Par.
The Perfume Academy 2023 gala is a tribute to all the perfume trades. Spain is a geography of great importance for perfume: it is the world's second largest exporter of perfumery and cosmetics, behind only France, and a world leader in the production of essential oils, with 72,000 hectares of lavender, lemon, thyme, rose and other essential oils, plantations that have an immediate economic and social impact of more than 3,500 million euros and 50,000 jobs. Crops such as lavender, lemon, thyme and rose subsist throughout Spain thanks to their production and harvesting for the cosmetics industry. Spain is a world leader in the production of rosemary and thyme, it is also a major producer of lavender, the second largest producer of lemon and its essential oil. Rockrose occupies more than 2 million hectares throughout the peninsula and 4% is harvested, depending on factors such as the age of the plant, the quality of the land and its accessibility.
The Academy invites everyone to follow the gala streaming on 25 October at 19:00h through its website www.academiadelperfume.com. All the contents of the gala, as well as videos of the juries and voting, winners and best moments will be shared on a microsite created specifically for the Perfume Academy Awards 2023.