Heritage
A house, in its own words
Carlos Kusubayashi grew up navigating multiple cultural worlds. Born in Brazil to Japanese parents, he spent his formative years in Japan before relocating to Paris and eventually settling in New York. This itinerary across three continents shaped his aesthetic sensibility in ways that would later inform his fragrance work. Before founding A Lab on Fire, Kusubayashi developed a connection to S-Perfume, the house behind the cult fragrance Amouage Epic for Men. When he launched A Lab on Fire in 2011, he brought that institutional knowledge with him, creating a sister brand that could explore different creative territory. The name itself suggests experimentation and transformation, a laboratory where raw materials undergo processes of combustion and reinvention. Reports describe Kusubayashi as a private individual who rarely appears in public or grants interviews, lending the brand an air of mystery that mirrors its unconventional scent names. Fragrantica records indicate the house created its earliest fragrance in 2011 and continued releasing new work through 2018, with a catalog spanning surf-inspired aquatics, abstract florals, and conceptual blends that challenge conventional fragrance taxonomy.
A Lab on Fire approaches perfumery as a medium for storytelling rather than simply scent creation. Kusubayashi reportedly draws from personal memory, geographic location, and emotional experience when developing new fragrances. The house name itself signals a philosophy of transformation, taking ingredients through metaphorical fire to produce something fundamentally altered from its original state. Rather than chasing market trends or mainstream preferences, the brand appears committed to olfactory narratives that feel personally significant to their creator. Many fragrance names suggest specific places, moments, or cultural references: Hossegor references a famous surf destination in France, My Own Private Teahupo'o nods to a notorious Tahitian surf break, and Liquidnight evokes aquatic nocturnal imagery. This naming convention suggests fragrances designed to capture experiential memories rather than abstract olfactory categories. The brand's limited production model implies a philosophy that prioritizes craft and intentionality over volume, releasing new work only when Kusubayashi feels compelled to document a particular scent concept.