The last few weeks have been action packed for the fragrance world. From Pitti Fragranze in Florence to two Asian fragrance focused events in Paris plus boutique openings, founder events and an historic bottle exhibition in Venice, the pace has been frenetic. Here are the highlights.

Florence – Pitti Fragranze

Over 250 brands exhibited at the annual Pitti Fragranze, September 12–14. Pitti normally seems small and intimate, but this was the first year I had to give my contact information and sign an NDA before I could get into a stand. This is Pitti Fragranze….not the Coty booth at TFWA! However, as we know, times are changing. I made time to discover some brands I had never smelled before, while also visiting stands of newcomers and hitting off-site events.

The lovely Ankita Gill, founder of Param Sara, described her fragrance The Nirvana as “the scent of freedom, an ultimate to attain,” while The Kama celebrates intimacy as “the most sacred thing in the world.”

Berlin’s Raer Scents introduced 15WEST, blending neroli and cannabis into what the brand calls a “spaced-out summer haze.”

The gorgeous blue-and-white porcelain bottles of the Korean niche fragrance house Salon de Nevaeh drew my attention. Founder and perfumer Nevaeh uses native Korean ingredients in her collection.

After attending the screening of the sentimental documentary, Memorie Olfattive, I had to go to Meo Fusciuni, to smell the scents mentioned in the film such as Little Song and Encore du Temps. I was captivated by Isola, a yuzu lemonade concoction that recalls the lazy days of summer.

Thomas de Monaco presented his Flowers for the Future collection to me, noting, “when it comes to speaking about ingredients, less is more.”

Newcomer Carl Kling presented his duet of fig fragrances, Clary Fig and Fig Nuit, created with perfumer Antoine Lie.

Michele Marin Essenza hosted a lovely fête to launch his latest scent, E39 TraDire. The Floral chypre scent, inspired by the French author Marguerite Yourcenar, alludes to that moment when we can reveal our true self to another, it’s a silent, internal dialogue of the soul.

I shared a moment with the maestro, Lorenzo Villoresi, celebrating the release of his latest fragrance Teti, at the launch event, held at his beautiful Florentine palazzo. This fragrance from the Mare Nostrum collection is an explosion of juicy, ripe fruits and heady florals.

I’d be remiss not to mention Source Adage who received me “off campus” in a beautiful florist shop near Santa Maria Novella. This brand has such an interesting concept: everything, from the names to the choice of ingredients, is inspired by American landscapes. The latest scent, aka’ula, transports us to the Hawaiian islands as the setting sun turns the sky red.

I also moderated a masterclass with Korean brands Saranghaeyo and Pesade. While both brands emphasize storytelling, translating real experiences from the founders’ lives into scent, and both employ a minimalistic and modern aesthetic, they are decidedly different. Saranghaeyo is 100% Korean: from the founder to the perfumers to the production, to the packaging. Pesade positions itself as a global brand where the founder happens to be Korean. Both houses succeed in blending Korean sensibilities with Western predilections.

My major takeaway is that the Korean approach to fragrance is a departure from loud, overbearing scents that enter the room first. It’s about quiet power – scents that last without being intrusive.

An Eventful Week in Paris

Back in Paris, I started the week at the Little Africa concept store which is now stocking Maya Njie fragrances. A self-taught perfumer and a rising star in the independent fragrance sector, Maya has created a range of gender-neutral fragrances, inspired by her Swedish and West African heritage.

She has built brand awareness through strong social media and with careful consideration she has grown her distribution to include points of sale throughout Europe, the US and Japan as well as Mexico. Welcome to Paris Maya!

Korea Perfume Paris hosted it’s first event this September to introduce the French capital to the new wave of Korean perfume. Twelve houses participated, each with a unique identity and vision. Among the brands I discovered were:

Organ Tale: I was a little scared of the name until the founder, Shim Ilwa, explained to me it’s about stories he envisions from the perfumer’s organ. Fleur de Bon Bon, stood out with its transparent red shade, and its sweet dessert notes.

mimicri: Founder and Creative Director Daniel Kim has created an avant-garde collection of fragrances where art is an inspiration. With scents like I am a Pencil and Gessoed, he stretches the imagination. My personal favorite was Dada for its rich chocolate notes.

BienBiang: a very interesting brand inspired by the island of Hainan, its legends and native ingredients.

Ohtop: founded by Romeo Oh, I had seen them at Esxence in years past and finally had a moment to smell the range. Half Moon, a warm and earthy scent with cinnamon and bergamot, was my favorite.

That evening I dashed out to the grand opening of the Jacques Fath boutique near the Arc de Triomphe. Creative Director Rania Naim told me the retail space directly below the company offices just happened to become available, so she seized the moment. She applied her artistic savoir-faire to creating a modern, luxurious space in elegant tones of black, white and gold. It’s a peaceful sanctuary where clients can have a one-on-one consultation before making selections.

The night was still young so I crossed town to attend the opening of the Paris Shanghai Perfume Show at the Bastille Design Center. The event, a collaboration between Nez and Notes Shanghai, was held in advance of Shanghai Perfume Week, and offered those in Paris a venue to explore the Chinese fragrance market in greater depth. Twenty Chinese brands were exhibiting including Melt Season, Secrets’Door, To Define (Limerance, the ambery scent of determination, was my favorite) and Soul Artisan, among others. More than a dozen Smell Talks were scheduled over the next few days, and hopefully will be diffused on the Nez site in the near future.

And now for something completely different…we leave the world of tradeshows and boutique openings to travel back in time, to discover the art of perfumery from its origins to the current day.

A Venetian Excursion

Since childhood I have been fascinated by perfume bottles, boxes, jeweled containers, any and all kinds of vessels. Consequently, when I learned that a major exhibit was coming to the Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice, I had to see it. The Storp collection is an incredible treasure for the world of perfumery. From ancient to modern times, the visitor sees the evolution of fragrance containers from terracotta amphorae to glass flacons to whimsical porcelain bottles and everything in between.

A driving force behind this exhibit is Marco Vidal, CEO of Mavive and a key partner of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, which includes the Palazzo Mocenigo. He commented with pride and reverence on this momentous occasion.

I was welcomed to the museum by Rouba Al Sayegh, International Trainer at Mavive, who accompanied me during my visit, answering all of my questions.

Can you tell us about the Storp family and their involvement with fragrance?

The Storp family has a long-standing history in the world of perfumery. This German family has always admired the art of fragrance creation, which inspired them to found DROM in 1911, a fragrance house initially dedicated to supplying the finest ingredients locally, before expanding into a global player in the fragrance industry. Their passion for perfumery predates the founding of DROM and was the key motivation behind establishing the company.

What can you tell us about how the collection was assembled?

The collection of precious perfume flacons began shortly after the founding of DROM. Bruno Storp and his wife, Dora, laid the foundation, and it grew significantly in 1921 when Dora actively started acquiring rare flacons from antique shops, auctions, private collectors, and perfume houses. Their extensive industry connections through DROM gave them unique access to these sources. Later, in 1967, their daughter Ursula Storp took over the collection, dedicating herself to managing, preserving, and enriching this valuable legacy.

When Ursula began managing the Storp Collection, it had grown to 3,000 precious pieces, some of which date back more than 6,000 years. Due to the size of the collection, the main room, called the Portego, in Palazzo Mocenigo could display only about 500 pieces, arranged as a chronological timeline from antiquity to the contemporary era. In the future, the museum plans to create a dedicated space for the entire collection of 3,000 pieces, giving us the delightful hope that one day we will be able to view the full story of this extraordinary collection.

What should visitors focus on the most? Are there specific pieces that stand out for certain reasons – age, materials, provenance, technique, etc?

Visitors should always remember that what they are seeing is art spanning more than 6,000 years of history. We emphasize this point because it helps them appreciate just how far back the history of perfumery goes and how precious the containers themselves were; not just the fragrances they held. This is why the main quote of the exhibition is: “The perfume may vanish, but the bottle preserves its memory.” To me, every piece in the collection is a work of art, each telling its own story and boasting a unique shape. The bottles from both antiquity and industrial revolution periods are especially mesmerizing, as visitors should keep in mind that, in the past, nothing was industrialized, everything was handcrafted and entirely human-made.

I understand Givaudan created a few fragrances for the exhibit. What historical periods do they reference? Do they highlight specific styles in fragrance from the selected period?

The perfumes on display are the fruit of meticulous research, reviving recipes that span across the centuries, often fragmentary or open to interpretation. To bring them back to life, it was essential to identify raw materials that were at times unobtainable, substitute them with olfactory equivalents, and reinterpret the preparation methods (heat sources, temperatures, and durations). Where precise quantities were missing, the perfumer relied on sensorial intuition to balance the composition with verisimilitude. The outcome harmonizes historical fidelity with technical expertise, while reminding us that in the past formulas varied according to available resources, tools, and knowledge, and that until the 19th century many perfumes were also regarded as remedies. Along the timeline, you will be invited to indulge in seven newly created fragrances by Givaudan, allowing you to breathe today the very notes that once infused temples, royal courts, and boudoirs.

This was an extraordinary moment for the senses combining visual appreciation with the sensorial experience, all while standing in an historic Venetian palazzo. It was a rare privilege to see some of the world’s most precious flacons, absolute treasures from a family who has contributed to the mystique of the art of perfumery. Fragrance aficionados and bottle collectors will not want to miss this show which closes November 30, 2025.

EXHIBITION Collezione Storp | Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo

You can see, it was quite a month! From Florence’s artistry to Venice’s historic treasures and Paris’s global showcases, fragrance today is both timeless and forward-looking. Whether rediscovering ancient relics or unveiling futuristic flowers, perfumery continues to be a dialogue between memory, culture, and imagination.