Heritage
A house, in its own words
Rami Mekdachi, a photographer, musician and filmmaker, launched Lola James Harper in 2013 as a global art initiative. The debut took place in Colette, the iconic Parisian concept store that was known for showcasing emerging designers. Mekdachi described the launch as a way to share how he sees and feels the world, turning scent into a visual and auditory experience. Over the next few years the brand expanded beyond candles, introducing a line of eau de toilette in 2017 that carried the same narrative approach. Each 2017 scent—Just Say Yes, Play Again Now, Do What You Love With People You Love, Everything Will Come Together, Together Is Always Better, Little By Little With Joy—was released as part of a series that paired fragrance with a short phrase, inviting the wearer to inhabit a moment. In 2020 the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary with a pop‑up in Paris that revisited the original Colette installation, reinforcing the connection between space and scent. Throughout its first decade, Lola James Harper has remained a privately run studio, avoiding mass‑market distribution in favor of curated collaborations with boutique retailers and art spaces. The brand’s evolution reflects Mekdachi’s ongoing commitment to an artistic odyssey that blends olfactory craft with visual storytelling, a model that continues to attract collectors who value the narrative depth of each product. The creative vision behind Lola James Harper rests on the belief that scent can act as a memory trigger, a portable scene that recalls a specific place or feeling. Mekdachi draws from his own archives of photographs, music tracks and film stills, translating those visual cues into aromatic compositions. The brand’s values emphasize authenticity, personal connection and the joy of sharing moments with others. Rather than chasing trends, each fragrance is conceived as a snapshot of an experience, whether it is a conversation with a friend or the ambience of a city street. The approach to perfumery is collaborative; while Mekdachi directs the concept, he works with independent perfumers to translate the narrative into notes that echo the intended mood. The resulting products are presented as extensions of a larger artistic practice, encouraging users to engage with scent as part of a broader sensory dialogue. This philosophy aligns with the brand’s broader mission to blur the boundaries between art forms, positioning fragrance as a medium that can be photographed, scored and filmed.