Heritage
A house, in its own words
Manos Gerakinis grew up in Kavala, a port city on the northern Aegean Sea. He recalls the scent of his mother’s Dior and Guerlain bottles drifting through the family home. In 2014 he turned those memories into a business, establishing the first Greek niche perfume house under his own name. The launch took place in Athens, where he set up a small workshop and began sourcing raw materials from Mediterranean farms and distant oud cooperatives. The brand’s first public fragrance, Gold Rose, arrived in 2015 and attracted attention from collectors who noted its blend of local rose oil and amber. The following year the house expanded its range with Gardenia, a bright floral, and Oud, a deep woody scent that highlighted the brand’s willingness to work with rare ingredients. 2017 marked a turning point when Gerakinis released two limited‑edition scents, Sillage Suave 2017 Edition and Sillage Galant 2017 Edition, signaling a commitment to seasonal storytelling. In 2018 the house introduced Rose Poetique, a tribute to the rose fields of the Peloponnese, and continued to grow its portfolio with Petitgrain (2016) and Silver Oud (2015). By 2020 the brand earned a finalist slot in the Fragrance Foundation’s Art & Olfaction competition, a recognition that placed it among a handful of emerging European houses. Throughout its first decade the house has remained a family‑run operation, with Gerakinis overseeing formulation, sourcing and design. The brand’s milestones include opening a boutique showroom in the historic Plaka district in 2022, allowing visitors to experience the scents in a setting that reflects Greek heritage. Each step of the journey reinforces the founder’s belief that perfume can serve as a bridge between personal memory and cultural landscape. Gerakinis frames each scent as a dialogue with Greek landscape and heritage. He believes that fragrance should capture a moment, a place or a story rather than chase trends. The house therefore selects themes that reference ancient mythology, coastal breezes or the aroma of Mediterranean herbs. The creative process begins with a field note. Gerakinis records the colour of a sunset, the texture of a stone wall or the scent of a market stall, then translates that observation into a brief for the perfumer. He works with a small circle of collaborators, encouraging them to respect the raw material’s character while exploring unexpected pairings. Sustainability informs the brand’s values. When possible, the house chooses ingredients that are harvested using traditional methods that protect biodiversity. Gerakinis has spoken about supporting farmers in Assam who practice sustainable oud extraction, and he seeks suppliers who can provide traceable documentation. The brand also embraces a minimalist aesthetic in its communication, preferring clean typography and restrained colour palettes that let the fragrance speak for itself. This approach mirrors Gerakinis’s view that perfume should be an intimate, personal experience rather than a loud advertisement. The house’s philosophy therefore rests on three pillars: authenticity, respect for nature and a narrative‑driven creative process.