"A heart is a heavy burden"
- Sophie
4 Seasons of Fragrance was a remix I designed between Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and fragrance design. I interpreted certain main characters into perfume bottles based off their personal stories and character traits as well as appearances. This was a quick exercise I did on a whim after being enchanted by the film so many times.
To understand more about the design decisions you can visit my blog here
I kept the form of the bottles consistent throughout the characters for a cohesive family of fragrances. I grabbed inspiration from alcohol flasks and whimsical potion bottles as a small reference to the sorcery theme throughout the film.
Howl, is the famous wizard that romances women across kingdoms but never commits. While he is exceptionally talented in the arts of magic, he is constantly tormented by his inner demons as he had grew up heartless after giving his heart to Calcifer as a contract. For his fragrance bottle, I was inspired by his alternate form as a black winged beast that seemed to bring out his demons while giving him significant power.
Sophie stumbled into all the character's lives like a breath of fresh spring air. One of Sophie's most prominent traits is her resilient kind nature. She constantly doubted her own outer beauty throughout the film but retained her inner courageous and strong soul. I used the flower, edelweiss, a symbol of rugged beauty as it blooms in the harshest conditions proudly, to represent this beauty and spirit.
Calcifer is the flaming fire demon chained to a contract with Howl. Despite his size, his vivacious personality along with his flames is what keeps Howl's life and career going. He is the fuel to the castle and although bitter about the contract has a big heart.
Turnip Head, was actually Prince Justin, the lost prince from the neighboring kingdom in war, as a cursed scarecrow. While under the spell, he couldn't talk and was alone but had the undying kindness and grace to help Sophie constantly and ultimately fell in love with her even when she herself was cursed as an old lady.