David Seth Moltz
David Seth Moltz grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, an oceanside town that shaped his sensory imagination long before he ever picked up a pipette. A single bottle of cologne won at summer camp ignited a fascination that never dimmed. Moltz taught himself the art of perfumery, building his knowledge through obsession and experimentation rather than formal training. In 2007, he and his partner launched D.S. & Durga from their Brooklyn apartment, treating fragrance like music composition: layering stories, references, and unexpected contrasts into something wholly original. What began as a small operation crafting scents inspired by everything from motorcycle exhaust to medieval manuscripts has since grown into one of New York's most distinctive fragrance houses, now operating from the Brooklyn Navy Yards. Moltz still approaches each creation as a musician might, treating top notes like a first chord and base notes like a closing refrain. His background in music bleeds into every bottle he creates.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How David composes
Self-taught and deliberately unconstrained by classical training, Moltz favors an unconventional palette that includes unconventional materials alongside traditional ones. His fragrances tend toward the narrative and atmospheric, often featuring sharp contrasts: sweet against mineral, green against resinous. He gravitates toward ingredients that carry cultural memory, things that trigger recognition without being obvious. D.S. & Durga scents frequently open bold and unexpectedly, then soften into something intimate on the dry-down. Moltz has a particular affinity for incense, woodsmoke, and aromatic herbs, though his range spans far wider, from bright citrus to animalic depths.
Philosophy
What drives David
Moltz believes perfume should tell a story you didn't expect to hear. He draws from unexpected reference points, translating things that have no business smelling like anything into wearable art: radio waves, leather saddles, burning sage, the particular smell of a library in summer. He rejects the notion that fragrance is merely cosmetic, instead treating each creation as an atmospheric intervention, a way to mark space and time. His work invites wearers to notice the overlooked, to smell the world more carefully. Moltz often describes his process as architectural, constructing fragrances with the same intention a filmmaker frames a shot.
The houses
Maisons David composes for
In the same league