All the Details on Iman's Debut Fragrance Inspired by Her Enduring Love for David Bowie

The supermodel and activist tells PEOPLE her first perfume, Love Memoir, is a tribute to her "everlasting love" for the late rock icon

Iman knows just how much scent can trigger memory. That's what led her to embark on one of her most personal projects yet.

The supermodel, activist and CARE global advocate just launched her first perfume, Love Memoir, exclusively available at HSN and hsn.com, as a tribute to her "epic romance" and "everlasting love" with rock legend David Bowie, who died in 2016 from liver cancer.

Opening up for the first time since his death in this week's PEOPLE cover story, Iman says that crafting the fragrance during the pandemic at the home they shared together in upstate New York, was not only cathartic for her, but helped her find true healing.

For more on PEOPLE's cover story with Iman and other top stories, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.

"I found by creating this fragrance, remembering David and being in the house, it just somehow eased my grief," she shares. "And I came through it."

iman

She details how during the pandemic she found comfort among his favorite paintings and books — and in wearing his signature cologne, Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford.

"There is an alchemy and magic to it," Iman tells PEOPLE. "I put in the woodsy vetiver that reminds me of David and the cologne he wore the night we met, and then the bergamot of Tuscany, where we were married."

Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Iman on PeopleTV.com or on the PeopleTV app.

Calling Love Memoir "a fragrance that is both him and me," Iman adds that the color of the amber bottle is also a nod to the sunsets they both loved and the hammered-gold cap was inspired by her own African heritage.

iman

"It's very romantic," she says. "I think scent and memory are very attached to each other."

While this is her first fragrance, Iman is no stranger to the beauty space. The trailblazing entrepreneur launched Iman Cosmetics in 1994, cementing herself as a disruptor in the beauty industry with one of the first ever diverse and inclusive makeup lines made for women of color. And Bowie was her steadfast supporter and sounding board throughout it all.

"He was so instrumental," she tells PEOPLE. "As much as I find myself confident, I'm actually very apprehensive of starting things, especially businesses. If David was not in my life, I don't know if I would have had the courage to start Iman Cosmetics — he's fearless in that way. He gave me the courage."

And Iman says she takes comfort in knowing that Love Memoir is definitely something her forever love would be proud of.

"Even now, when I'm starting something, I think, 'Well, what would he say?,' and he would say, 'Go for it.'

For more from Iman and David's love story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

Related Articles