Gentry style

Inspired by the film classic The Third Man, Caron’s titular fragrance also goes by the names ‘Number 3’ and ‘Le 3me’. Drawing upon the unpredictable and irrepressible, avant-garde flair of Orson Welles, Caron’s 1985 elegant, smooth aroma has been blended in the flickering magic of the movie beam. The cinema screen is a projection of desires, of aspirations and dreams, and it is no surprise that other creative industries should be captivated by the magnetism of the medium – just recall Cindy Sherman’s melodramatic photography or Miles Davis’ real and unreal scores. Individual films, beyond their own generic classification, are ‘a style’ in a very different sense. They are a mélange of music, image and performance – as much an indefinable coming together of essences as any carefully procured perfume. The seduction of Caron by the beguiling élan of Harry Lime and his irredeemable but awe-inspiring character smells of a conceptual richness that befits both industries.