There are worse things to do than hang around an Italian villa surrounded by handsome men dressed in the finest cashmere and merino wool, men who know their best angle, who can pose perfectly casually—one hand in a pocket, one foot out—even when there’s no red carpet for miles around. Men named Vittorio and Mattia and Vincenzo. Twins from Dubai with matching baby bangs and 1.8 million followers. Ciao, belli.
These very dashing, remarkably photogenic men who smell like woodsmoke, Tahitian vanilla, leather, and the forest after a gentle rain—which they know to call “geosmin”—are some of the maestri of PerfumeTok. They’re here in the foothills of the Italian Alps to learn about a group of eaux de parfum from Zegna, the men’s-wear-and-fabric house. With each minute in their presence, I feel underdressed, under-groomed, and in need of lessons in how to pose. We all have our skills.