Smelling with the Experts: An Ethnography of a Fragrance Laboratory in Kannauj

This paper explores laboratory as a critical node in the fragrance commodity chain where flowers and essential oils are transformed into attar and perfume. In my ethnography, the laboratory emerges as a space not only for the transformation of a natural product into a bottled commodity but also for the external validation of this process. I look at this institute, Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC) in Kannauj - the city which is known as the perfume capital of India - as a social space where scientists, perfumers, trainees, and businesspeople are constantly in the process of negotiating authority and expertise. Based on my observations, I discuss how “expertise” as a scientific category gets reimagined within the lab. I contextualize this place as an institution that is a connecting thread among agricultural practices, scientific innovation, and industrial production. While science, as we know, often aims for objectivity, here in the fragrance lab, the picture looks different as it also accommodates individual perceptions, especially when working with something as subjective as a fragrance. This paper examines how the sensory experiences of working with fragrances are mediated through technological processes, highlighting the depth of scientific engagement that contributes to the fragrance industry.
Keywords: Senses-Technology-Laboratory-Fragrance-Materiality

Cheryl Prendergast (School of Communication & Design, Fashion Enterprise, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Vietnam, Vietnam)
Exploring Uncommon Senses: A Multimodal Approach to Traditional Natural Dyeing Practices in Vietnam

This paper emphasises the importance of integrated sensory experiences in teaching and learning traditional dyeing practices, an important part of the cultural heritage of most of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups and their connection to place. The multimodal approach applied encompasses the entire journey of ‘growing colours’, from the visual appeal of cultivation to the tactility of gathering leaves, digging roots, and plucking flowers. It examines the transformation of raw materials into vibrant natural dyes, focusing on the changes in sight, sound, smell, and texture of the raw material during preparation along with sensory feedback upon application to fabric. The unique sensory properties of fabrics used for dying - silk, linen, and hemp - illustrate how touch and sound facilitate identification without reliance on sight. Together, these fabrics exemplify how touch and sound convey essential qualities, enabling identification through sensory interaction. By utilising traditional craft knowledge, participants transform plants into vibrant colours a node to Vietnam culture, embedding narratives surrounding slow fashion, sustainability, and conscious consumerism within Vietnamese culture.This paper advocates for teaching methodologies that enhance appreciation for traditional craftsmanship and evoke the senses, highlighting their relevance to contemporary sustainability discourse. It argues that a holistic, intermodal understanding of natural dyeing practices can provide rich connections to cultural heritage and inform modern practice. This paper aims to highlight how embracing sensory education can improve engagement and understanding of traditional crafts and transgenerational transfer of knowledge in Vietnam.
Keywords: Sensory Education, Sensory Connection to Place, Sensory Experiences, Traditional Dyeing Practices, Transgenerational Knowledge Transfer in Vietnam