High-end mens’ boutique, Odin New York, has created a line of three new fragrances that aim to reach male and female clients alike. Odin New York, a Soho/East Village life-style store dedicated to men,unveiled its new line of gender-neutral fragrances this month in select stores.

Co-owners Eddie Chai and Paul Birardi partnered with Kelly Kovack and Larry Paul of Purpose Built to develop three different scents. Purpose Built is focused on development, branding, business solutions, marketing and sales in the personal care industry. “We (Chai and Birardi) understood what customers wanted from a fragrance. Larry and Kelly from Purpose Built knew all the components as far as manufacturing a fragrance,” said Odin co-owner, Paul Birardi. Together the group formed a new company called Foundry, and began developing the Odin fragrances in July of 2008.

The scents aim to reach a universal audience with a taste for quality. The Odin fragrance customer is “not a specific age bracket and it’s not a specific gender. Men and women are both buying it… from younger clientele to men and women in their 40s and 50s,” explains Birardi. “Just because we’re a mens’ store in particular, or just because people might think a fragrance is slightly more masculine, doesn’t mean a woman wouldn’t appreciate it or wouldn’t want to wear it.”

Larry Paul and Kelly Kovack of Purpose Built and Paul Birardi and Eddy Chai of Odin New York and Odin Fragrances. Image courtesy of Mat Szwajkos.

Furthermore, the scents that are considered more feminine are not necessarily the ones that female clientele reacts to, and visa versa.

“We have a citrus which I think most people tend to think is more feminine, and an oriental which is definitely more spicy and woodsy, and people think this would be for a man. It’s very interesting for me… to see how the males are reacting to the citrus, while the females are reacting to the oriental,” said Birardi.

Though their sleek black bottles are all similar in appearance, each complex scent tells a unique story, according to Birardi. The concept behind the line is a “modern interpretation” of “ a progression of travel via wandering Nomads, destination Owari, and enrichment Century.”

The first fragrance, entitled 01 Nomad, combines various scents such as juniper, cedar, and spicy black pepper, to make reference to the spice trade routes of the orient. 02 Owari (Owari is both Japanese for ”the end” as well as a province in Japan) symbolizes the Nomad’s completion of his journey.This scent includes mandarin, grapefruit, and cubed pepper and Tonkin musk.Combining silver birch, cypress, and forest mint, 03 Century is a “modern interpretation of the chypre family”.

The fragrances retail for $110 (100ml/3.4 fl. oz) and are available in select department stores. More info: www.odinedt.com.