Costume National

Costume National: An Innovator in the Field of Fragrance

Since 1986, Costume National has been a force in the world of fashion. It was started by two brothers, Ennio and Carlo Capasa, who established the company headquarters in Milan, Italy. The brothers and Costume National have won a number of awards for their designs in the intervening decades and have gone on to create several prestigious brands, both in lines of clothing and in perfume brands, such as Scent Gloss, Intense, and The Trilogy.

Two Brothers from Milan

When Costume National was born in the in the mid-1980s, Ennio Capaso had just returned from Japan where he was an assistant to the prestigious designer Yohji Yamamoto. Using what Ennio had learned, he and his brother Carlo established the company in Milan, introducing their first collection of women’s clothing in that first year. In a few year, the clothing produced by the Capaso brothers was being shown in Paris, and it wasn’t long after that before there were Costume National fashion houses in such fashion centers as New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Paris, and of course, Milan.

At the dawn if the 21st century, Costume National entered the world of men’s clothing in collaboration with Kataweb, an Italian internet provider. That was only the beginning of the company’s expansion – soon they were making eyewear, footwear, accessories, and perfumes.

Costume National Fragrances

The perfumes made by Costume National are just as innovative as their clothing, bold and original.

One of the earlier brands of perfume produced by Costume National was the simply named Scent. This deep and long-lasting fragrance has a natural scent of woods and flowers is distinctly feminine. It was the first of a number of Scent perfumes.

Scent Intense was first released in 2002, created with the talents of Laurent Bruyere. Also for women, this is a more intense scent, as the label claims, made with the aromas of patchouli, amber, hibiscus, sandalwood, crystal amber, tea, and jasmine.

Not long after that, Scent Sheer was released. This Oriental floral fragrance, again for women, has white amber and musk at its base. This perfume was also produced by Laurent Bruyere. Tea, jasmine, hibiscus, and apricot comprise some of the other notes in this perfume.

The Scent brand is just one way in which Costume National constantly innovates, taking a great concept to the next level, making every step better than the one that came before, while still keeping the first efforts relevant.

Constant Evolution

Evolution is a core concept of Costume National, constantly referenced by Ennio Capasa himself. When the concept of the web was still a new thing, Costume National was already in the forefront, streaming the first live fashion show ever. This sort of creativity is why the company has remained a name to watch, despite its relative youth in the fashion and fragrance markets.

The internet has been the vehicle which Costume National uses to propel its evolution, and with good reason. The Web itself is constantly changing and evolving. Its capacity and means of communications expand on an almost daily basis. Costume National operates in that same manner, using that evolving technology to keep their fashions on center stage, making sure their brands always have a fresh look while remaining true to the core inspiration of the Capasa brothers.

The rock music of the 1970s, in particular the clothing worn by the rock artists of that era, was the primary inspiration that would later become Costume National. That could not be the whole design philosophy of the company, however. This is where evolution is key – changing the look and style and scent of a product to match the sensibilities of changing times without changing what that that product is, at is very core. This has enabled Costume National to create products that are distinctly their own.

Ennio Capasa believes fashion should fit the desires of the individuals. How they smell and how they look is a personal expression, not the stamp of any given company. It’s a form of communication that allows the wearer to express some facet of the personality in a nonverbal manner in a way few other media can imitate. If it is art, it is not about the artist, but the person who has decided to make the art his or her own.