Zoologist Dodo Jackfruit Edition: A Tropical Fougère Study

Zoologist Perfumes has built its reputation on olfactory portraits of animals, both real and imagined, each composition a dense, often challenging narrative of habitat and behavior. The Dodo, a flightless bird extinct since the 17th century, first appeared in the house's catalog in 2020 as a lush, fruity-floral evocation of its Mauritian island home. The 2023 Jackfruit Edition, composed by Yves Cassar, revisits this concept with a radical shift: a tropical fougère that marries the classic aromatic structure of lavender and woods with the humid, spicy sweetness of jackfruit and turmeric. The result is a fragrance that feels simultaneously nostalgic and alien, a barbershop fougère transported to a tropical rainforest. This reformulation is not a mere flanker but a reimagining, retaining the Dodo's spirit of exotic abundance while reorienting its architecture. Where the original leaned into a fruity-floral gourmand territory, the Jackfruit Edition grounds itself in the earthy, herbaceous backbone of a fougère, with the tropical notes acting as vibrant top and mid accents. The inclusion of turmeric—a spice rarely used as a central note—adds an unexpected warmth and rootiness that challenges conventional perfumery categories. As a fragrance historian and analyst, I find the Jackfruit Edition to be a fascinating case study in how a house can reinterpret its own heritage. It speaks to Zoologist's willingness to take risks, and to Yves Cassar's skill in balancing the familiar with the strange. This review will dissect its composition, evolution, performance, and place within the broader fougère and tropical genres.