Heritage
A house, in its own words
Mona di Orio began her perfumery education at 17, when she met and apprenticed under Edmond Roudnitska, the legendary creator of Diorissimo and L'Eau d'Issey. For six years, she trained not only in raw materials and composition but received what she described as a comprehensive cultural education encompassing classical music. This intensive period shaped her understanding of fragrance as a form of composition, one that unfolds over time like a musical score. Following her work with Roudnitska, Mona encountered Serge Lutens in Grasse, where she drew further inspiration from his approach to fragrance as artistic expression. Additional influences came from the worlds of gastronomy and viticulture, experiences that deepened her sensitivity to how flavors and aromas interact. The pivotal moment came in 2004 when she partnered with Jeroen Oude Sogtoen, a Dutch designer whose career had moved from fashion through interior design to hospitality. While working on a hotel project, Sogtoen had launched Hotel Cosmetics, which brought him into contact with di Orio. Their shared love of art and craft became the foundation for the perfume house. That same year, they launched the first three fragrances: Lux, Carnation, and Nuit Noire. The house operated from Amsterdam, with production maintained in France. Mona's death in December 2011 at age 42 left the house at a crossroads. Sogtoen assumed leadership, and in-house perfumer Fredrik Dalman, who had trained under Bertrand Duchaufour and studied at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, took over creation duties. The brand continued releasing new work, including Dõjima in 2017, until announcing its closure under Sogtoen's creative direction.
The house positioned itself as a defender of unconventional perfume traditions, specifically those that recall the richness and complexity of early 20th-century fragrance craftsmanship. Rather than chasing trends, di Orio approached creation as a composer might approach a symphony, building scents that develop through distinct phases rather than remaining static. Central to the philosophy was the interplay between light and dark. Di Orio frequently juxtaposed sparkling, ethereal top notes against sensual, dramatic base materials, creating fragrances that shift and reveal themselves differently over the course of wear. This technique requires careful calibration of materials and an understanding of how each element will perform over time on skin. After her death, this philosophy persisted through Dalman's work. He describes being influenced by texture, color, temperature, and light, concepts he considers possible to translate into fragrance. The house maintained that each creation should touch the heart deeply and achieve a form of perfection in its construction. The brand's stance remained consistent: deeply respectful of perfumery's heritage while refusing to simply replicate the past, instead using tradition as a springboard for work that feels both rooted and alive.