The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Qissati's Chapter 01 reads like the opening page of a personal narrative translated into scent, bottled as an extrait de parfum released in 2023. The composition is signed by perfumer Olivier Cresp, whose hand shows clearly in the structure: something generous up top, something resinous in the middle, a long warm base that doesn't quit. Chapter 01 came out the same year it took its first public shape as a wearable piece, with Cresp, a nose with deep roots in Grasse and a portfolio spanning two decades of commercial and niche releases, putting his signature on the brief. His style runs through the construction like a thread.
What's notable here is the raspberry-saffron-leather handshake before myrrh even arrives. Cresp puts the fruit first, lets the saffron scorch it, and the leather underneath acts less like a separate note and more like the surface the opening is laid across. Mate shows up as a dry, almost smoky tea tone, which gives the sweetness a smoked edge before myrrh formally takes over. The myrrh then doesn't have to introduce itself cold. It walks into a room that's already been warmed up.
The evolution
The first 20 minutes are the show. Raspberry hits bright, almost sharp, then the saffron pulls it sideways into something warmer and more uncomfortable. Leather grounds the whole opening so the fruit doesn't read as candy, and mate adds a dry, slightly bitter edge, like the smoke from a match that just went out. The leather reads as a texture rather than a distinct material, more a sense of weight and grain than anything that points to suede or saddle. After about 40 minutes, myrrh enters with its resinous weight, and the raspberry recedes into a faint stained-glass sweetness that lingers behind the resin. By hour two, the incense begins to lift from the base layer and the composition turns contemplative, the cetalox adding a clean mineral edge that keeps the ambergris from going syrupy.
Cultural impact
Qissati Chapter 01 arrives at a moment when raspberry against leather reads as an unusual pairing, and that unusual pairing is precisely what makes it interesting. The saffron note contributes a heat that pushes the composition away from simple fruit gourmand territory and into something more textured and difficult. Mate gives it a green, almost bitter edge that keeps the sweetness from tipping into candy, and that tension between sweetness and bitterness is what holds the fragrance together for the long haul. For wearers exploring the Qissati line, Chapter 01 functions as both a standalone piece and an introduction.
The House
QissatiQissati is a UAE-based fragrance house that translates chapters of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's memoir, My Story, into extrait de parfum compositions. Released through Scentegy Dubai, the line debuted with Chapter 01 in 2019 and expanded through 2023 with additional chapters. The project sits at the intersection of Arabic literary tradition and contemporary niche perfumery, offering wearers a scented reading of one of the Gulf's most influential lives.
The Creator
Olivier CrespCresp's signature style often features a blend of fresh, clean notes with warm, comforting accords. He's known for his masterful use of fruit notes, particularly fig and berries, which he often combines with florals and musks to create scents that are both inviting and sophist…
