Boudicca's Wode: A new Obsession...

By Alex Fury, 11:09 Fri 24 Oct 2008

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Wode in action!

I remember Wode first being touted at Boudicca's A/W 2001 show 'The Battle of Altruism', where an ever-evolving scent-scape of a battleground drifted across the audience during the presentation. While our own Violence perfume is currently under development, it is fascinating to see Boudicca's ambitious and unique olfactory vision finally becoming a commercial reality. Typically, Boudicca's foray into perfume is as unconventional as their contributions to fashion: Wode is named after woad, a tribal colouring used by Ancient Britons during warfare, and the fragrance emerges from its container stained the same violent, virulent indigo as said pigment. But fear not, the colour fades (although after I doused the lovely Laura Bradley rather liberally with the stuff yesterday, we had our doubts) leaving behind only the fragrance. No anodyne floriental, the heavy, heady fragrance has notes of raw opium and hemlock, inspired by the label's namesake, Iceni Queen Boadicea, who killed herself by swallowing this poison.

Contained within a spraypaint can wrapped with metal-tipped ribbon and bearing an engraved nameplate, there is no chink in Boudicca's aesthetic armour in this diversification. Wode exudes the qualities of rebellion, intellectualism and a subversive, agitprop luxury inextricably associated with Boudicca from every pore. And, most importantly, when the colour fades it smells absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, it was impossible to capture the scent, but the video above shows to some small degree the (frankly magical) visual play of the fragrance in action.

'Wode' can be purchased online at www.boudiccawode.com