The people of Barcelona walked the path of Jesus, looking for fresh air, longing for a breath of freedom, escaping the city and the eyes of its people. Before the agricultural fields began to become the basis of the most interesting buildings in Barcelona and before its name changed, in 1827, to Passeig de Gràcia, this path was already the one for those who needed to escape from the overwhelming social norm. It is as if being the escape route (literally) has marked the identity of a street, where anything can and does happen. The impossible too: there are balconies like Venetian masks and chimneys seen in science fiction films.
“It is the only street with two buildings listed as World Heritage. It is also the one with the most Michelin stars in Spain. And, although it is famous for its luxury offering, there is a great diversity of sectors and even prices,” says Lluís Sans, president of the Amics del Passeig de Gràcia association.
We are in the city where dreams shape the stones of the buildings and on the street chosen by those who can choose. But the waiting time to get a commercial premises “far exceeds a year, and can be much longer depending on the requirements,” Sans informs us.
Is it worth the wait? In principle, yes, for something as practical as the fact that the highest sales figures in all of Spain occur among its stores. But also because being on Passeig de Gràcia is being part of modernity. There is an almost complicit union between the soul of the street and the spirit of some of the brands that occupy the commercial premises.
For example, at number 56 is one that has seen how its classic icons have been transformed into a sign of modernity. We are talking about Burberry, the brand of the legendary trench coat and the patented checkered print. The most classic has managed to emerge from a labeled English high society to become an object of desire for restless minds. It is likely that this has had something to do with the philosophy of the company founded by Thomas Burberry and which has been increasingly betting on values ??such as sustainability (with a sustainable materials research group, Burberry Material Futures Group) and diversity (worth as an example, the LGTBI version of the paintings that Ricardo Tisci made in 2018).
And, if something defines a fashion brand, beyond those garments that pass the test of time, it is the subtle message of its olfactory creations, which is always transmitted through the not-so-subtle communication of advertising campaigns. The latest from the trench coat brand is called Burberry Goddess Eau de Parfum – an aromatic gourmand fragrance, created by Amandine Clerc Marie -, which wants to pay tribute to the iconic garment, while celebrating the union of women, the group strength of the feminine. . To communicate this, they have chosen the actress Emma Mackey and have created a spot in which she surrounds herself (the production is digital) with a pride of lionesses. Sorority, feminism, animalism, vindication of the force of nature… values ??of contemporary and future society.
Mackey herself feels this way: “Being an ambassador for the new Burberry fragrance is something very special and personal. Lionesses represent feminine unity and strength. They move together. In the same way, women lean on the shoulders of those who preceded us and those who accompany and support us throughout life.” Perfect fit between an avant-garde city and street and a brand that unites roots, culture, beauty and new values.
Feminism changes relationships, attitudes, laws… and with it necessarily comes a new masculinity. A man transformed by new values, free from the corsets of the imperatives of virility. He who, according to him gained power, unconsciously lost internal freedom is in full extinction.
Let’s go to number 71 Passeig de Gràcia. Because there is the Hugo Boss store, a brand that could not better represent impeccable European luxury minimalism. The suit, which has always been the signature of the brand, is giving way with the change of times to a new, unexpectedly different icon: the sweatshirt. Hugo Boss has known how to transform his logo and let the masculine attire of power and success give way to that of relaxation, of being oneself, of attending to the small and intimate life.
The firm shares an anniversary with the street: this 2023, when Passeig de Gràcia celebrates its 200th anniversary, one of the firm’s icons turns a quarter of a century old. This is Boss Bottled Eau de Toilette. And, to pay tribute to this fragrance, one of the best-selling in the world, a new olfactory chapter has been created: Boss Bottled Elixir, an interpretation by perfumer Annick Menardo, based on cedar and laudanum absolute, which plays celebrate the new masculinity, with what it implies in that new form of relaxed and close elegance. And the man who represents her is still the handsome among the handsome: Chris Hensworth.
It may be that the great attraction that the most important streets in the world have – and that coincides with what the best creative directors give to their creations – is the feeling of freedom. A freedom that, at some moments, has taken on the aesthetics of the sexy and, at others, the mystical. But always, from the dreamlike. There is, perhaps, no moment more free than that of sleep. Gaudí seemed to draw his own on the stones of the city’s most emblematic buildings. Alessandro Michele, director of Gucci until 2023, also did so in his creations. His clothes seemed free of gender and time. And the firm’s olfactory creations, which in recent years have been sublime, have played at belonging to that world since their campaigns.
The Gucci Bloom one immersed us in a dream world of flowers and wonderful androgynous people, dressed in pink. In the campaign for the latest launch, Gucci Flora Gorgeous Magnolia Eau de Parfum, captured by artist Petra Collins, takes us into pure surrealism. Something very consistent with unexpected and surprising olfactory notes, the creation of perfumers Daphné Bugey and Marie Salamagne, which combine blackberry, magnolia, blonde woods and coconut accord. This is how 76 smells, this is the third “olfactory grace” of a walk in which everything moves, how time moves and how, if it exists, the soul moves.
