The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
is™ launched in 2025 as one half of a conceptual duo with was™. One fragrance formulated by human perfumers Isaac Sinclair, Fanny Grau, and Nikolaj Koralewicz. The other by AI. The brief: explore the tension between centuries of perfumery tradition and algorithmic creation without revealing which is which. Kentaro Yamada wanted to ask what creativity means when intelligence is no longer exclusively human. The composition itself became the argument, a duality made tangible through scent, where cold metallic accords and warm, rounded fig and violet notes create a tension that resists easy resolution.
The metallic notes are what make this chemistry interesting. Combined with fig, violet, and dark chocolate, they create an unusual tension. The chalky quality of metallic accords reads cold, almost industrial. But fig brings sweetness. Dark chocolate brings a subtle gourmand edge. Violet adds powdery softness. These shouldn't coexist easily, and that's the point. Most fragrances pick a direction. is™ refuses to. The result is something genuinely exploratory rather than formulaic.
The evolution
The opening hits sharp and green. Bergamot and galbanum arrive first, cutting through with an almost medicinal brightness. Nutmeg warms it within minutes. This phase is clean, aromatic, precise. The metallic quality begins to surface underneath, preparing the transition. Fifteen minutes in, the heart takes over. Metallic notes become the main event, cold, electric, chalky. Fig and violet arrive to soften it: fig's sweetness, violet's powdery elegance. Dark chocolate lingers unexpectedly, adding a gourmand depth that shouldn't work but does. This phase lasts several hours, revealing complexity that rewards patience. The drydown arrives quietly. Suede and sandalwood smooth everything out. Patchouli adds earthiness. Vanilla creates warmth. Vetiver grounds it with a woody, slightly smoky finish. The projection stays close, intimate rather than announcing.
Cultural impact
As a 2025 release from Neandertal, is™ arrives during a period of widespread conversation about AI's role in creative fields. The fragrance doesn't claim to answer whether machines can create, but it does pose the question in a way that feels immediate and embodied. Kentaro Yamada framed the project as an encounter between intelligence rooted in perfumery tradition and the logic of algorithms. The result is a scent that functions as a philosophical object, one that asks you to reconsider what you smell, and what it means that you're smelling it at all.
