Perfume: The Social Life of Scent

Title: Perfume: The Social Life of Scent
Speaker: Dr Mairi MacKenzie is a fashion historian, curator and Research Fellow in Fashion History and Curating at The Glasgow School of Art.

One does not need to be a perfume connoisseur to have been deeply affected by scent. For many it is a source of profound and abiding pleasure, for others, an aberration from which they’d rather be spared. This talk by Mairi MacKenzie will examine the many such ways that perfume is embedded in our personal, social and cultural histories. Drawing upon her own time as a teenage perfume sales girl in small-town Scotland, and her research for a forthcoming book on perfume for Bloomsbury she will highlight the cultural significance of perfume; the visceral nature of scent as a marker of life’s milestones; as well as the role perfume has played in the social history of dressing up and going out in Scotland. There will be an opportunity to smell a selection of perfumes as part of this talk.

Mairi MacKenzie is a fashion historian and curator based in Glasgow. She is Research Fellow in Fashion History and Curating at The Glasgow School of Art. Mairi’s current research is focussed upon social and cultural histories of perfume, She is curating an exhibition on the history of perfume and design with V&A Dundee and is author of the forthcoming publication ‘Perfume and Fantasy: The Social Life of Scent’

Doors - 7:30pm - first come first served on seating

Intros - 7:50pm

Talk - 8pm

Q&A - 8:40pm

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