Stories through a new lens: A Photography Collaboration in Malta

Earlier this year, our Maltese retail partner, FRANKS, invited a group of photography students from MCAST to interpret the Stories Collection through their own creative lens.

The project offered students a unique challenge: rather than creating commercial imagery, they were asked to respond to fragrance as an artistic medium. Each student was assigned one of the seven fragrances from the collection and encouraged to explore what the scent evoked for them personally – whether through emotion, memory, colour, atmosphere or narrative.

While the resulting images naturally differed from the visual aesthetic typically associated with Miller Harris, that was precisely the intention. The brief was not to create campaign assets, but to capture an individual and authentic interpretation of each fragrance. Some responses reflected fragrance notes and ingredients more literally, while others explored more abstract ideas and emotions inspired by the scents.

The completed works were exhibited as part of The Photography Exhibition at the Mercury Towers inviting visitors to discover the Stories Collection through the eyes of a new generation of creatives.

The Judging Process

To celebrate the students' work, a panel of judges was invited to select their favourite interpretation. Voting combined perspectives from the Miller Harris team, the public, and three respected photographers from Malta's creative community:

• Matthew B. Spiteri (@matthewbspiteri)
• Andre Gialanze (@andregialanze)
• Lorella Castillo (@lorellacastillo)

The votes were cast as follows:

• Public Choice: Mìneir
• Miller Harris Team Choice: Melody
• Lorella Castillo's Choice: Soufflot
• Matthew B. Spiteri's Choice:  Mìneir
• Andre Gialanze's Choice:  Mìneir

With three of the five votes, Mìneir emerged as the overall winner.

"It was an amazing experience turning my interpretation of Mìneir into a visual story. I'm incredibly grateful to Miller Harris and Franks for giving me this opportunity and for believing in my work. Having my image selected means so much to me, and I'm thankful to have been part of this project." 

– Matthew B. Spiteri

Celebrating Creative Interpretation

One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was seeing how differently each fragrance could be interpreted. Fragrance is inherently personal, and the students' work demonstrated how scent can inspire a diverse range of visual responses, stories and emotions.

We were particularly delighted to see Melody selected by the Miller Harris team, photographed by Alexia (@alexias_ehibit5), while Mìneir resonated strongly with both the public and the majority of the judging panel.

"It was such a pleasure seeing the medium of photography used to express and communicate the stories that Miller Harris seeks to convey through its perfumes. The collaboration between Franks, Miller Harris and local upcoming artists plants the seeds for new ways to get people in touch with the most fleeting of our senses."

– FRANKS

Projects such as this remind us that fragrance extends beyond the bottle. It has the power to spark creativity, inspire storytelling and connect people through shared sensory experiences.

We would like to thank FRANKS, Claudia Borg, the participating students, the judging panel and everyone who took part in the exhibition for bringing the Stories collection to life in such thoughtful and unexpected ways.

Image credit: Claudia Borg