How Floris Elite became an English icon
Almost five decades since its creation, Floris's Elite fragrance maintains icon status and remains a Floris family favourite
Words: Aobh O'Brien-Moody
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Floris’s Elite fragrance is an icon of the British perfumer’s signature collection that continues to maintain its popularity 45 years since its inception. But even as a loyal following blossomed, first at home, then across the continent and finally among devotees the world over, the fragrance always retained a special emotional significance for the Floris family.
The scent was conceived by 7th generation Floris family member Michael Bodenham, and was named after ‘Lotion Elite’, a Floris aftershave cream that first featured in the Floris catalogue in 1851. Michael's son John Bodenham, the company’s current chairman, reflects fondly on the inception of Elite: “I remember my father ordering lots of strange new essential oils for his experiments and a long process of trial and error ensued, until a first version of Elite emerged,” he says. “All concerned were delighted with his creation – we knew that it was different, distinctive with a timeless sophistication, which I am pleased proved to be the case. However, my father was something of a perfectionist and continued, almost ad infinitum, to try to enhance the first version until we were able to convince him that the first version was perfect – thus Elite was born.”
Michael Bodenham in 'the mine' of 89 Jermyn Street
That Floris’s Elite has endured as a timeless fragrance for almost five decades is testament to Michael Bodenham’s commitment to the craft of perfumery, which he no doubt inherited from the generations of fragrance creators that went before him. He would spend hours at a time reworking and perfecting fragrance blends down in ‘the mine’, “the affectionate name for the arched brick lined cellar which ran underneath 89 Jermyn Street,” explains John. “By the time I joined the business, ‘the mine’ had become a revered sanctum where my father would disappear to when inspiration was required for a new fragrance.”
John and Michael Bodenham in the Floris shop on 89 Jermyn Street in 1975
The result was clearly worth it. Elite is a complex fragrance that is at once fresh and woody, thanks to notes of patchouli and vetiver, which are enlivened with a citrus twist of bergamot, grapefruit and lemon, and punctuated with notes of cedar leaf and spicy juniper berry. It’s undeniably British in its spirit, reflecting Floris’s rich heritage as the oldest English retailer of fragrance and toiletries. Elite can be purchased as an Eau de Toilette, as well as a bath and shower gel, shaving soap and aftershave.
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