Initio

First unveiled in 2015, a cloak of mystery enfolds this French perfume house. Artistic director Sonia (her surname is secret) prefers to talk about the influence of Patrick Suskind’s book ‘Perfume’ – and the power of perfume

As she puts it: ‘In the beginning, in ancient Egyptian times, perfume was used for everything except to smell good. It was used to create magic, to attract love, to purify the home, to communicate with the gods, to cure and to cleanse the body. Even up until today, in some countries, you have that culture of perfumes being used to clean and purify – in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, for example. Even in the Middle East, where they know perfume better than anyone, perfume is still used as an object of power.’