Around 1090 the Seljuk Empire’s obstruction of the existing trade routes triggered the Crusades, while a similar act by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 spurred the Age of Discovery.
The (frequently artful) attempts of Arab traders to control the spice market by spreading all sorts of fantastic tales (while keeping the actual production locations completely secret), prompted Europeans to explore areas in which they had no interest up to then, in order to access directly the valuable aromatic substances. In actual history, spice trade has for centuries played a major role in the development of Western civilization, very often a most dramatic one. Marché aux épices marocain (Oil painting by Patrick Brière)© Meeting the universal demand for it is an extremely hard task to tackle, since the Spice can only be harvested on the inhospitable, desolate desert planet Arrakis (aka Dune), through a complicated and highly dangerous procedure controlling Arrakis, and its Spice production, equals to almost controlling the Universe… An addictive and mind/body altering drug, the Spice is essential to interstellar travel, as it enables its users to extend their life and enhance their mental abilities. The very name of État Libre d’Orange Spice Must Flow is a line from David Lynch’s 1984 film adaptation of Herbert’s highly successful novel, and it epitomizes the vital importance of “the Spice” (or “Melange”) to the vast, spread among galaxies, worlds of a very distant future. Orbiting Arrakis (Digital collage by Despina Veneti)© Faithful to the collection’s concept of paying tribute to luminaries of progress or key events in history of mankind, 500 Years (to be reviewed soon) is an olfactory homage to the Renaissance, while Spice Must Flow honors both the spice merchants who boldly traveled old and new paths and Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi “Dune” saga. “He who controls the Spice, controls the Universe! ” – Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in David Lynch’s film “Dune” (1984), based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novelĮxpanding its rose-centric “Orange Extraordinaire” collection that was initiated with Experimentum Crucis, (inspired by Isaac Newton’s world-changing scientific theories), État Libre d’Orange has just released the exuberant – former Selfridges exclusives – 500 Years and Spice Must Flow. État Libre d’Orange Spice Must Flow (Photo/digital effects by Despina Veneti)©
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