Everything Is About Chemistry: Sissel Tolaas on Her Mission to Understand Smell at The Met and Beyond

In the world of fashion, where visual allure is often king, a new realm of sensory exploration has been quietly gaining traction—smell. Sissel Tolaas, an avant-garde scientist with a flair for both chemistry and linguistics, is spearheading this movement. Her work bridges the gap between olfaction, time, and linguistic arts, offering a unique perspective on how we interact with our environment through scent.

The Evolution of Conservation and Scent

Conservation in fashion has seen dramatic transformations over the years. Gone are the days when scented exhibitions were as simple as pumping perfume through air vents. Today, advancements in chemistry, neuroscience, and communications have paved the way for more sophisticated explorations into scent. Tolaas’s collaboration with fashion giants like Balenciaga exemplifies this shift.

From Pompeii to The Met

Tolaas’s journey has taken her from archaeological sites in Pompeii to high-profile collaborations at Balenciaga, where she was tasked with evoking the scent of power for a spring 2020 show. Her work extends beyond fashion shows and into prestigious institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met).

The Power of Smell

Why focus on smell? According to Tolaas, “with every breath we inhale information about the surroundings, about people…in a way that engages with memory and emotion like no other sense.” This profound connection between scent, memory, and emotion is at the heart of her work.

Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion

The Met’s exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” features four interactive installations by Tolaas. These include:

• A scratch-and-sniff wall based on molecules from a Paul Poiret dress worn by Denise Poiret.
• Smells emitted through tubes in the Red Rose room, capturing essences from other historical dresses.
• Glass flacons in the Garden room, arranged at various heights, containing scents from two Christian Dior creations.

These installations offer visitors a multisensory experience, inviting them to engage with fashion history on a deeper, more emotional level.

Emotional Intelligence and Smell

Tolaas views the smell molecule as “the alphabet of emotional intelligence.” Unlike traditional perfumers, her goal is not to please but to provoke thought. She isolates molecules to understand their impact on our bodies and emotions, believing that “nothing is more true than a smell.”

The Impact of COVID-19

The pandemic has brought the importance of scent into sharp focus. As Tolaas notes, “COVID made the world close down because there was an invisible particle in the air.” This shift in perception has validated her work over the past 25 years.

Interconnectivity and Learning

Tolaas emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things. Her work at The Met aims to teach us about nature not just through its appearance but through its molecular composition. As curator Andrew Bolton puts it, “We have to learn from each other, including other living species.”

Chemistry: The Foundation

In Tolaas’s world, everything is about chemistry. By understanding the elemental level of scents, she seeks to make the invisible world accessible in new and meaningful ways.

Conclusion

Sissel Tolaas’s pioneering work in olfactory science challenges us to reconsider how we perceive fashion and history. Through her installations at The Met and beyond, she invites us to explore the rich tapestry of emotions and memories woven into every scent. As we move forward, it is clear that chemistry will continue to play a crucial role in our understanding of the world around us.