DS & Durga turns the corpse flower’s stench into a floral fragrance
DS & Durga has released a new fragrance called Resurrected Corpse Flower, drawing on the notorious Amorphophallus gigas that drew crowds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Perfumer David Seth Moltz encountered the plant at its strongest odor and, using his synesthesia, translated its cheesy, fishy, rubbery qualities into a floral composition with notes such as tuberose and lily. The resulting scent is described as a striking inversion of the flower’s rotting smell.
The fragrance, Resurrected Corpse Flower, is sold in a 50 ml bottle for $270. Its creator, David Seth Moltz, co-founded DS & Durga and experiences synesthesia, which shapes how he composes scents by linking smells to colors and images. He encountered Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Amorphophallus gigas, nicknamed Smelliot, during its brief peak bloom.
The plant’s odor is designed by nature to attract pollinators and has been compared to carrion. Moltz instead built a bright, elemental profile around bog cedar, lily, tuberose, green olive, grapefruit, and green banana. The result contrasts with the original stench, while the real flower remains a rare event, blooming only every few years.
This launch may appeal to fragrance enthusiasts, plant lovers, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden visitors who followed Smelliot. It could turn a rare botanical curiosity into a wearable conversation piece, possibly drawing new attention to garden programming and niche perfumery. Because the scent is an inversion rather than a literal reproduction, it may attract people curious about unusual stories, though its $270 price could limit broad adoption.