Victor Wong – about future plans and snow leopards
An outstanding perfumery specialist with a wealth of experience and passion for the world of fragrances. Her expertise in this niche of women's perfumery for over a decade allows her to unravel the mysteries of fragrances
Victor Wong answers questions the same way he creates a new fragrance: first a pause, then a smile, then an unexpected turn of thought. We spoke with the founder of Zoologist Perfumes about his childhood in Hong Kong, the strange profession of a visionary without formal perfumery training, and the beast that occupies his mind right now.
How the Brand Idea Was Born from Childhood Memories
Zoologist grew not from a perfumery lab, but from childhood impressions and a love of music. Victor often repeats that the brand began long before the first bottle, somewhere at the intersection of sound and imagination.
We started the conversation from the very origins, because without them it's hard to understand the logic of the entire collection. Hong Kong, an old record, and a Canadian design studio turned out to be more tightly connected than one might assume.
Is it true that Zoologist started with music?
Absolutely true. It all began with Saint-Saëns's "Carnival of the Animals." I listened to this music as a child in Hong Kong, and each instrument seemed to me a separate animal with its own character.
Years later, already in Canada, the memory came back on its own. I was working as a 3D graphics artist and game world designer, creating creatures for entire universes. And the two passions merged without any plan.
How did this turn into a perfume brand in 2013?
The idea came as a symbiosis, not as a strict calculation for investors. Animal music and a love for creature design connected on their own. That's how the format was born, where each bottle is dedicated to one animal.
I have an education in computer design, not perfumery. Although that seems to have helped: I thought in images of creatures even before I started thinking about notes.
The first months weren't about formulas at all. I drew animals, listened to old music, and tried to understand what scent would suit each character.
Not a Nose, but a Visionary
Victor's role in the brand raises the most questions from the public. He is called a perfumer, although he himself prefers another word and willingly explains the difference.
We decided to figure out who he really is for Zoologist. The answer turned out to be closer to the world of film and theater than to classical perfume school.
You are often called the perfumer of Zoologist. Is that accurate?
Not quite. I'm more of a director who comes up with the concept and then looks for an independent perfumer to bring it to life. I have no formal perfumery education, and I've never hidden that.
I know what story I want to tell and invite a master who can speak the language of molecules. My role is closer to a film director than a score composer.
I don't compose notes myself. I assemble a team that can turn the image of an animal into a living scent, and that is my main work as a brand visionary.
How do you choose a perfumer for a new idea?
I look for someone whose style resonates with the animal's character. For a bold beast, a brave nose is needed. For a mysterious beast, someone who loves half-tones and understatement is more suitable.
Sometimes discussing a concept takes months. But it is from this dialogue that the character of the future fragrance is born, not from a ready-made formula.
I show the perfumer a drawing, music, sometimes even a clip from a documentary. The material for inspiration is more important than a brief with percentages of ingredients.
Bottles That Speak Before the Scent
The appearance of Zoologist is recognized even by those who have never smelled the brand's fragrances. Bottles with drawn animals have become a business card as effective as the compositions themselves.
Therefore, talking about design is not a digression for us, but part of the essence. Victor takes illustration as seriously as selecting notes.
Is the bottle style also part of the brand's story?
Of course. Daisy Chan's illustrations are a separate language of Zoologist. She draws animals as if they stepped out of an old engraving and came to life on the label.
The bottle works before the scent. A person picks it up, examines the animal, and only then decides on the first sniff, already tuned to the right story.
Why illustrations instead of photographs of real animals?
A drawing leaves room for imagination. A photograph shows the animal as it really is. But an illustration shows it as childhood remembers it, a bit mythical.
It's important to me that the bottle evokes exactly this feeling of recognition. "Carnival of the Animals" wasn't a documentary chronicle either, but an image.
Each Zoologist bottle works like a small illustrated book: first you look at the animal, then you hear its story in the scent.
Daisy Chan participates in almost every discussion of a new concept from the very beginning. The visual image and the scent are born practically simultaneously.
The Brand's Cult Fragrances and Their Character
Over the years, the brand has built a whole collection of characters. Each fragrance bears an animal name and reveals its own accord, recognizable from the first sniff.
Before moving to details, it's worth looking at the most notable characters nearby. A small table helps to see how different the Zoologist animals are in mood.
| Fragrance | Inspiration | Scent Character |
|---|---|---|
| Bee | Bee | Honeyed, warm, floral |
| Moth | Moth | Mysterious, powdery, nocturnal |
| Squid | Squid | Aquatic, intellectual, salty |
| Tyrannosaurus Rex | Tyrannosaurus | Primordial, powerful, leathery |
| Hummingbird | Hummingbird | Floral-fruity, light, ringing |
The list continues with Bat, Civet, Rhinoceros, Dodo, Nightingale, Chameleon, Elephant, and Camel. Each adds a new facet of character and a new emotion to the brand.
None of these fragrances tries to please everyone at once. Rather, each seeks its own viewer, like a separate short film.
The Philosophy of Animalic Perfumery
The main idea of the brand is hidden in the very word "animalic." Victor understands it literally, not as a marketing label for a warm base.
We asked him to explain why there is so much earth and wildness in the fragrances. The answer came out almost like a manifesto for the entire collection.
Why do your fragrances feature earth, mushrooms, cave air?
Because animals don't smell like flowers. Real nature includes damp soil, bark, fur, leather, and resins, but the perfumery vocabulary usually stays silent about that.
We call it a sensory essay. It's a way to engage in dialogue with wild nature honestly, without gloss and without sweetness.
Animalic notes in small doses are found in almost any classical perfumery, but Zoologist brings them to the forefront consciously and without shame.
Does this approach scare away some buyers?
Sometimes yes. But it's precisely the boldness that turned Zoologist into a phenomenon of niche perfumery worldwide. The audience seeks stories, not just a pleasant smell in the end.
I believe a fragrance can be almost documentary evidence. It captures the beauty of the animal, as well as its strength, fear, and territory.
What Critics Like and What Confuses Conservatives About the Brand's Approach
Discussion of the brand's reputation usually splits into two camps. Some are delighted by its boldness, others keep their distance.
Victor doesn't argue with critics and easily lists both sides himself. Below are the arguments most often heard in reviews and critiques.
- sincere, almost documentary concepts without glossy marketing
- recognizable visual language and a coherent story for each bottle
- bold chords of earth, leather, and resins, which are almost absent among competitors
- unusual notes are not suitable for every office environment
- the absence of a classical perfumer at the brand's origins raises questions among purists
- conceptuality sometimes outweighs universal wearability
Victor takes these debates calmly. In his words, the label "an acquired taste" is not a verdict, but part of the brand's character, which never aimed to be convenient for everyone.
Plans for the Future: Talking About Snow Leopards
The final part of the conversation turned out to be the most personal. Victor rarely reveals future projects, but this time he made an exception.
The talk turned to an animal he has long kept in sketches. The snow leopard became not so much a release plan as a reason to talk about the fragility of nature.
What are you working on right now?
I'm thinking about an animal that rarely appears in perfumery at all. The snow leopard has long lived in my sketches as a symbol of the fragility of wild nature. For now, it's a direction of exploration, not a finished fragrance.
The work is still going slowly and almost blindly. I collect images, music, and notes without forcing myself to meet deadlines.
Why the snow leopard specifically?
It lives high in the mountains, where almost no one sees it. Its life is hidden from view, and in that I see a metaphor for all rare species at once. Could there be a more honest symbol of disappearing beauty?
Also, its solitude touches me. The leopard almost never meets its own kind, and this silence of the heights seems to me a strong perfumery image.
What will the future fragrance smell like?
It's too early to talk about a finished formula. I want to convey cold mountain air, snow, and something wild, almost animalic in the base.
But this is a direction of thought, not a promised release. A visionary's plans change more often than marketers would like, and that's normal.
How is a new Zoologist concept born overall?
The creation process at Zoologist almost always follows the same route, although it looks different each time. I describe it as a chain of steps where intuition is more important than a strict plan.
No stage can be skipped without losing character. The order came together by itself over the years of working on the collection.
- First, I choose an animal whose story touches me personally.
- Then I look for a musical or literary association that holds the image.
- Next comes a conversation with the perfumer about unusual accords: earth, resin, leather.
- Finally, a bottle sketch is born together with Daisy Chan so that the image and scent resonate in unison.
What do you say to people who worry about rare animals?
I say that care begins with attention. If a future fragrance makes someone read about the snow leopard for the first time, I'll consider the task accomplished.
It's a humble goal, but an honest one. Our conversation ended not with conclusions, but with a question for the future, and it seems the next beast has already been chosen.
Victor says goodbye as unhurriedly as he greeted. He repeats once more that there's no concrete plan yet, but there is an image of a mountain, snow, and an animal that's almost impossible to see. Sometimes the most honest story turns out to be the one that hasn't been fully told yet.
