Kinky Club Night Celebrates Queer Identities with Scent

Tapping into millennials’ desire for experiences, and aligning with contemporary celebrations of gender neutrality, olfactory artist Klara Ravat collaborated with notorious Berlin techno sex club The KitKatClub on a ‘senses’ party in May.
Under the tagline “Hear it. Watch it. Smell it. Taste it. Lick it. Suck it. F*** it. Dance it”, the event sought to champion queer identities through freedom of expression in body, word and performance. Ravat, who created a scent installation for the event, reflected that “the party was a motivation to explore fears and pleasures”.
It comprised a series of ‘Nose Kinks’ – scented bondage-style vinyl strips in red and black, strapped tight from ceiling to floor so clubbers could get close, touch, smell and play with them to explore how the sensory stimulation influenced their dancing and interaction with others.
Ravat designed three scents, aiming to “take the fetishism of the night one step further and create smells that could be perceived as extremely desirable, very animalic and, at the same time, almost stinky”.
Nose Kink N.1 had a strong musky, faecal and moist base, with a green fresh top layer and a sweet heart. Nose Kink N.2 was velvety and warm, designed “to make people feel like touching each other”. Finally, Nose Kink N.3 was built around civet – a traditionally animalic ingredient found in many classic perfumes.
“This club night taps into a trend we’re monitoring for more experimental, sensorial experiences with fragrance and scent,” said Stylus’ senior editor of Beauty, Lisa Payne. For more, see Experimental Scent Summit 2018, Abnormal Fragrance: The New Normal and Exploring Scent Communication.