Heritage
A house, in its own words
Nico Uytterhaegen built his reputation in Belgium as a designer working across multiple disciplines, including fashion, jewelry, and furniture, before turning his attention to perfumery in the early 2010s. The fragrance collection launched in 2011 with eight initial compositions, all bearing numerical designations (Nononsense 1 through Nononsense 8), a conceptual gesture that positioned each scent as part of a series rather than a standalone product. In 2012 the line expanded with two additional numbered releases, Nononsense 9 and Nononsense 10, alongside the introduction of a distinct sub-line called 'Unisekt,' which debuted with compositions named Arae and Vyyr. The 'Unisekt' nomenclature appears to reference the Latin word 'sectum' (cut) or a similar root, suggesting a curated or segmented approach to the creative output. Operating from Belgium, a country with a strong tradition of independent design and small-batch artisanal production, Uytterhaegen fits within a broader European pattern of multidisciplinary creatives who extend their visual and material practices into fragrance. The brand's catalog, as documented across fragrance databases, remains compact and artist-driven, reflecting the personal nature of the project. Uytterhaegen's approach to fragrance stems from a designer's instinct to work across categories with a single creative logic. Rather than developing a conventional luxury perfume house with marketing-driven narratives, the numbered 'Nononsense' series signals a pared-down, concept-first methodology: each composition is treated as an iteration, a piece in a sequence. The series title itself, 'Nononsense,' suggests a rejection of excess and embellishment in favor of directness. The subsequent 'Unisekt' sub-line introduces a parallel creative thread, possibly exploring unisex or gender-fluid territory, given the prefix 'Uni,' while maintaining the same rigorous, iterative framework. This dual-track approach reveals a thinker comfortable with systems and seriality, someone who understands design as a process of refinement across multiple outputs. The result is a fragrance practice that prioritizes the work itself over the apparatus of branding.