Heritage
A house, in its own words
David Seth Moltz and Kavi Ahuja Moltz met in New York's East Village neighborhood, reportedly on Avenue B, before launching D.S. & Durga in 2007. David, who goes by the nickname D.S., was an indie musician with no formal perfumery training. He taught himself the craft, developing fragrances as compositions that translate intangible experiences into scent. Kavi, whose nickname Durga comes from her middle name, handles the visual identity and design side of the business. The brand name itself combines their two nicknames, a reflection of their personal partnership. The house began by creating fragrances based on specific settings and emotional states rather than following conventional fragrance families. Their early work included releases like Lady Greystock (2011) and Spent Musket Oil (2012), which referenced historical and tactile narratives. In 2010, they released Beverly Hills 1985, a scent capturing a specific time and place in California culture. A notable collaboration came in 2013 with J. Crew Homesteader's Cologne, which brought niche fragrance concepts to a broader retail audience while maintaining the brand's distinctive voice. D.S. & Durga remained independent and Brooklyn-based throughout its growth, eventually attracting the attention of Manzanita Capital, which acquired a stake in the company. The brand continued releasing new work into the 2020s, including Royal Purpure and the 2024 release King Majesty Bergamot Chypre, demonstrating ongoing creative development under Moltz's composition. D.S. & Durga treats fragrance as a vehicle for storytelling and sensory memory rather than merely a beauty product. David Seth Moltz composes scents by imagining specific environments, historical moments, or emotional atmospheres, then translating those concepts into olfactory compositions. This approach means each fragrance carries a narrative dimension that invites wearers to inhabit a particular space or moment. The brand rejects the notion that fragrance should simply smell pleasant or follow seasonal trends. Instead, they embrace scents that can evoke specific references, whether that is the oxidized metal of a musket barrel, the dry heat of a western landscape, or the particular atmosphere of a 1980s Los Angeles neighborhood. This conceptual rigor distinguishes D.S. & Durga from brands that prioritize marketability over artistic expression. As a perfumer-owned house, D.S. & Durga maintains direct alignment between creative vision and final product. Moltz's complete creative control means there is no external pressure to compromise on unconventional ideas. The brand's willingness to release scents like You Kill Me With Silence (2018) demonstrates comfort with provocative or minimal conceptual frameworks. Their philosophy positions fragrance as an intellectual and sensory experience simultaneously.