The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Summer 22 was composed by Elodie Durande and released by Ffern in 2022, part of a four-fragrances-a-year cycle tied to the turning seasons. Ffern operates as an organic perfume house, working within a seasonal release rhythm that shapes every composition that leaves the studio. The brief was simple on paper and complex in execution: take the traditional accord of Bulgarian rose otto and geranium, two materials perfumers have leaned on for generations, and situate them somewhere wilder. Not a garden rose. A rose that grew past the fence. That tension between the cultivated and the untamed runs through every layer of the juice.
What makes the composition interesting is the friction between its elements. Camphor tree and key lime zest in the opening push toward something sharp and almost pharmaceutical, the kind of green that hits the back of the throat. That cold clarity meets neroli and basil in the heart, then yields to rose otto, a material long prized for its depth and complexity. Geranium arrives alongside it, adding a minty, slightly bitter facet that keeps the rose from collapsing into sweetness.
The evolution
The first thirty minutes are the strangest part, and possibly the best. Bitter orange, camphor, and frankincense create an opening that reads almost liturgical, a church-yard clarity with lime running through it like a current. It's bracing, not friendly. Then the shift happens. Rose and geranium arrive and the composition remembers it has a pulse, warming steadily through the next two hours as neroli adds a honeyed edge and basil keeps everything slightly green. Each phase slides into the next without losing what came before, the cool resinous opening still hovering somewhere beneath the floral warmth. The drydown is where this earns its keep. Hay absolute and vetiver settle into something golden and dry, the kind of scent that clings to a sweater overnight and smells better the next morning.
Cultural impact
Summer 22 is part of a seasonal cycle that treats the calendar as a compositional element, not just a release schedule. Ffern's approach means Summer 22 existed for a defined window, and that timing shapes how people approach wearing it. It's a scent for a specific time of year, released by a house that treats when something arrives as part of what it is. The fragrance rewards being worn in the conditions it was built for: warm air, long light, the particular greenness of mid-year. Outside of that context it still works, but it carries a memory of where it was meant to live.
The House
FfernFfern is a Somerset-based organic perfume house that releases four fragrances per year, aligned with the turning of the seasons. Founded in 2017 by Owen Mears, the brand draws its identity from a lineage stretching back to 1884, when Joseph Robert, a chemist working in Grasse, reportedly developed a method for extracting pure fragrance absolutes from plant matter. That discovery, and his work as a tutor to the renowned perfumer François Coty, forms the foundation on which the modern company was built. Ffern positions each release as a seasonal artifact, available only for the duration of its relevant season before the next composition arrives. The brand operates on a membership model, with customers joining a ledger to receive each seasonal scent. All perfumes are small-batch and made in the UK.
The Creator
Elodie DurandeElodie favors a minimalist palette. She often reaches for citrus top notes, transparent florals, and dry woods that provide structure without overwhelming the composition.
