Heritage
A house, in its own words
Anima Mundi emerged in 2017 as the historical storytelling arm of Niche and Co., a Swiss fragrance Maison established in 2013 by Giorgio Biella and Emilia Armida Chinigò. The founders built Niche and Co. as a creative platform for artisanal perfume houses, eventually developing multiple brands under one umbrella. Anima Mundi shares its parentage with Onyrico Parfums, another niche house from the same founders that explores different olfactory territories. The decision to create Anima Mundi grew from a specific desire to investigate the perfumery of ancient and pre-classical civilizations, periods that mainstream fragrance rarely addresses. Rather than treating history as mere marketing backdrop, the brand commits to genuine research into historical texts, archaeological records, and traditional aromatic practices. This scholarly approach distinguishes Anima Mundi from houses that simply name-check ancient cultures without substantive engagement. The brand maintains a connection to Anima Mundi Herbals, a botanical sister company that supplies natural ingredients and traditional knowledge to the perfume division. According to information published by the herbals company, relationships with certain ingredient suppliers extend across 35 generations, representing approximately 700 years of continuous practice. The perfumer Patrick Kelly signed the ANIMA MUNDI fragrance in 2019, according to Fragrances of the World records, suggesting the house collaborates with external talent rather than employing a single in-house nose.
Anima Mundi approaches perfume as a vehicle for historical inquiry. The brand believes that fragrance can resurrect sensory experiences from eras known primarily through written records and physical ruins. Rather than chasing seasonal trends or fashionable accords, the house selects historical moments, civilizations, or rituals as creative briefs for each new fragrance. This methodology produces perfumes that function as olfactory archaeology, reconstructing ancient recipes, sacred blends, and cultural practices through a modern lens. The philosophy extends to ingredient selection, where ancient and historically documented materials take precedence over purely contemporary synthetics. Frankincense, myrrh, sacred woods, aromatic herbs, and oils extracted from plants used in antiquity form the backbone of many compositions. The brand explicitly rejects the notion that perfume should be merely pleasant or fashionable. Instead, Anima Mundi seeks to create scents that provoke reflection, spark curiosity about the past, and establish an emotional connection between wearer and historical narrative. This approach requires more from the consumer, demanding engagement with the story behind each bottle rather than passive appreciation of the juice itself.