Who Robert Roope, eyewear designer and optician. Robert runs Black Eyewear, the optician and a chic glasses company he founded in 1979. The stylish designs are much favoured by the likes of Will.i.am and Lady Gaga and in 2015 he was one of Selfridges Bright Old Things, a celebration of older designers and creatives to watch. All of Robert’s designs are named after well known jazz musicians, as he is a big jazz fan.
Today I’m Wearing Lagerfeld Classic by Karl Lagerfeld For Men. It was the only fragrance at the time I was testing for a new one that ‘arrived’ nicely and everybody around me liked it, which helped.
I’ve had lots of presents of aftershave from family over the years…Giorgio Armani…you know, the usual range of wonderful men’s fragrances. I just didn’t feel right with any of them.
Then I discovered Lagerfeld Classic on a ship! I was traveling from Copenhagen to Newcastle and went into the duty free shop. I was looking for an aftershave and while I was testing them all, this one came up. I just kept coming back to it. It makes me feel comfortable and its very warm and not too overpowering.
My aura changes when I wear it, in fact I feel it expands my aura and helps creates a welcoming space around myself. People pick that up.
The archetype thinking on men up till now has been that of the armoured knight, where you’ve got to be very tough on the outside but you’re weak on the inside, if the arrow goes through the armour it’ll kill you. The current thinking is not like that, it’s the reverse, where you are soft on the outside and tough on the inside and perfume kind of opens the pores to this, it helps offer a more feminine aspect to your character.
Working up close to people has given me an awareness of smells and I mostly I find the aromas I come across are good, I think my customers have good taste! We have a very good collection of customers, some have been coming to us for 25 years.
I spray on my neck, always the same spot, usually in the morning just as I’m leaving the house on my way to work. I always have a bottle in the office. Often I’ll suddenly feel something’s not quite right, I feel I’ve got to just inject something into the atmosphere to bring it alive and add something new to the day, this fragrance does that.
