For Edward Hansen, scent is an experience, a memory, a mood. With a background in photography, interiors, and design, the founder of fragrance brand (S)MER brings a multidimensional approach to beauty, drawing inspiration from denim, emotion, and everyday moments. Here, Hansen shares how his journey led to scent, why fragrance should be genderless, and how confidence can start with a single spray.
In conversation with Edward Hansen:
I dropped out of university to focus on my photography business, which transitioned from freelance work to opening a gallery space. From there, I found my passion for interior design and the way a room can make you feel. I found myself running a design team for Space Furniture, which was instrumental in my development… and where I noticed luxury interiors were looking beyond how a space looks, it was how it made you feel, and ‘scentscaping’ is a huge part of that.
(S)MER’s ethos is embedded in the idea of the uniqueness of denim. Denim is worn by everyone but it becomes yours over time. It’s the way you style it, live in it, and it highlights you. (S)MER loosely translates to “to remember”. It’s this ethos that denim carries all your memories with you. Scent has always been a vehicle of memory for me, from scents I have worn on holidays… to the smell of my family home and the unique way this stirs memories of being young.
Originally, (S)MER was designed to be purely a home fragrance, however, in development I said, hang on, this is good! I want to smell like that! I wanted to be able to bring that same experience of unlocking memories through scent to the way people feel every day, and not just restrict this to when they were at home.
I searched the globe, literally, to find not only the most beautiful glass (sourced from Italy) but also developed bespoke denim caps. Every scent is allocated a denim shade that reflects the fragrance and story inside.
I wanted to build a space for my growing community to not only experience the products but the lifestyle I’m developing. I wanted to build a community around these four walls and create a space for people to come hang out, and create memories. The ceiling was modelled after the Bondi Icebergs steps, a local landmark that hosts the community as a place to bathe and hang out.
A mood is built not with things but with how everything comes together, the unification of material. When I develop my fragrances with my perfumer, Jocelyn [Fullerton], we choose ingredients…because of how they make me feel — that’s how we create a unique mood with every scent. Beauty is being confident in your own skin. I know when I spray our scent Canadian Tuxedo, I stand up straighter, as though an alter ego of confidence has taken over. Scent has that primal effect on us.
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a ‘gendered fragrance’. Before starting (S)MER, I would wear ‘men’s’ and ‘women’s’ fragrances all the time. It’s merely a marketing strategy by other fragrance brands.
My earliest memory of fragrance is at my mum’s home. The smell of our Bois du Matin fragrance instantly takes me home, wherever I am. It’s her house’s signature scent. My favourite scent now is cedarwood. It was love at first smell. Hence, cedarwood is a core ingredient in every (S)MER fragrance.
This article originally appeared in Fashion Quarterly’s Spring 2025 issue.
As told to Sarah Murray
Photography: Supplied
