The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Penny Ellis and Nicola Pozzani designed Mulberry Fig in 2022 with a clear intention: work with fig's natural tendencies while finding a more considered expression. Fig has a tendency to go tropical, or go green, or go very, very sweet. The answer was iris, not the sharp, medicinal kind, but the soft, powdery, almost nostalgic variety that smells like a memory of something you can't quite name. Fig provided the fruit. Iris provided the depth. Everything else kept its distance. The result is a fragrance where fig feels lifted rather than weighed down, where the fruitiness exists in balance with something deeper and more complex. Coconut adds warmth without tropical volume, the kind of material that quietly supports rather than announces.
The powdery character of orris is the structural surprise here. It changes how fig reads, not the bright, green fruit that fig might typically suggest, but something rounder and warmer, with an edge of old libraries and cream-colored paper. Vetiver and cypress keep the green thread alive without tipping into masculine territory. Coconut adds warmth without tropical volume. It's the kind of material that quietly supports rather than announces. The amyris and sandalwood base anchors everything that came before, giving the composition somewhere to settle and rest on skin.
The evolution
The opening announces itself clearly: fig, bright and almost watery, with violet leaf lending a cool green edge and cardamom adding warmth beneath. The cardamom recedes and the heart begins to take shape, iris emerging first, powdery and elegant, followed by vetiver's earthy dryness and a subtle coconut warmth that smooths everything together. The transition is gradual. No sudden hand-offs. The woody base arrives: sandalwood and amyris blending into something creamy and close, with cedar providing structure that lasts. The sillage has become intimate, discoverable only by someone standing beside you. The drydown holds as a quiet amber-wood whisper on skin. Throughout the wear, the fig note maintains its presence without ever tipping into sharpness or sweetness, instead evolving alongside the other materials to create a cohesive whole that feels both refined and approachable.
Cultural impact
Mulberry Fig is one of the warmer, more accessible entries in the Floris catalogue, with fig, iris, and coconut at its core. The composition achieves something refined and considered, avoiding both green sharpness and tropical sweetness. The fig note lands in a place that feels intentional rather than accidental, striking a balance between accessibility and complexity. This careful approach to the fruit note, combined with the supporting presence of iris and coconut, creates a fragrance that invites repeated wearing rather than making a single bold statement.
