Heritage
A house, in its own words
The Cult Gaia story begins with Jasmin Larian Hekmat, who launched the brand in Los Angeles with flower crowns as its initial product category in 2012. The founder, who has spoken about the brand's origins, initially focused on wearable art pieces that drew inspiration from objets d'art, positioning accessories as sculptural objects rather than purely functional items. Within a year of launching, Hekmat introduced handbags, a decision that would prove transformative for the brand's trajectory. The company gained significant traction in the accessories space, with its distinctive designs developing a devoted following among fashion editors and consumers seeking statement pieces. The brand remained primarily focused on its core categories of bags and jewelry throughout the 2010s, building a reputation for bold, architectural aesthetics within the contemporary accessories market. By 2024, Cult Gaia announced its expansion into fine fragrance, describing the move as the natural next step in building a complete lifestyle universe. The fragrance collection comprises three scents, all released simultaneously, representing the brand's first foray into beauty. The timing positioned Cult Gaia among fashion houses extending their aesthetic into scent, though the brand approached fragrance as a new creative territory rather than a conventional extension. Hekmat, who serves as both founder and creative director, has maintained a consistent voice across the brand's various categories, describing the fragrance wearers as women of unlimited strength.
At its core, Cult Gaia approaches design through the lens of duality and opposition. Hekmat has articulated a philosophy of marrying conflicting ideas, whether in accessories or in fragrance. This approach manifests in the 2024 scent collection, where the brand sought to blend grounding elements like woods with lighter, more ethereal components. The founder has described wanting the fragrances to mirror her design ethos, creating scents that hold tension between opposing forces rather than resolving into singular moods. The Persian heritage of the founder infuses the collection with specific cultural references, influencing both the named scents and the olfactory narratives they represent. The brand's approach to its fragrance line emphasizes the exploration of contrasts, drawing on spice, smoke, wood, and floral elements in combinations designed to feel simultaneously grounded and transcendent. Cult Gaia positions its fragrance wearers as goddesses, though the brand frames this archetype not as an unreachable ideal but as a woman whose strength allows her to take on varied challenges. This philosophy extends to how the brand presents its products across categories, maintaining a consistent voice that balances accessibility with aspiration.