Dezeen Magazine

Nendo creates bottle and logo for Kenzo's unisex Totem fragrance

Japanese studio Nendo has created a perfume bottle for Paris fashion house Kenzo in the shape of a tiny totem pole.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo

Made from dark purple glass, the bottles hold Kenzo Parfums' new Totem unisex fragrance. Nendo designed the packaging and logo for the scent range, which was created for a generation brought up with globalisation.

"Where previous generations have felt differences of nationality, language, and religion more acutely, the younger generation of today have comparatively fewer cultural divides to cross, enjoying a greater shared sense of identity through the global spread of online media and applications," said Nendo.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo

"This flexible and upcoming generation, with their mobile and vibrant lifestyles, are like a new 'tribe' in modern life, and this new unisex fragrance has been developed to symbolise their interconnectedness."

Totem poles were first created as wooden monuments by the indigenous peoples of North America. Like these structures, Nendo's bottles are formed from different-shaped elements that are stacked on top of one another.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo

The bottle and the uppermost lid section are intended to "merge into one another to create an overall solid and monolithic design".

Kenzo's fragrance comes in three variations, each signified by a different coloured band around a pinched section and matching lettering that spells out the scent's name around the middle.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo

Triangles, rectangles and circles are used to form the blocky letters, which are printed in yellow for the citrus fragrance, orange for the floral scent and blue for the fruity variety.

"This simplistic and bold design is a highly symbol-oriented attempt to capture and blend the primal with the transnational; two defining essences of the generation at which this new fragrance is aimed," said Nendo.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo

The logos are also used on stripes down the perfume boxes, which are patterned with black-and-white chevrons. The graphics are slightly distorted to subtly depict the outline of the bottle on each side.



Tokyo-based Nendo, led by designer Oki Sato, has previously designed a seemingly-empty perfume bottle and a range of stackable cosmetics packaging. It was also one of contributors to a series of scent-related installations at Milan design week 2015.

KENZO PARFUMS by Nendo
A Nendo sketch showing the concept behind the Totem fragrance packaging

During the Milan event in April, Sato told Dezeen that working on 400 products at a time "relaxes" him.

Photography is by Akihiro Yoshida.