Shop Luxury Perfume By Histoire Olfactive Collective At Fortnum & Mason London

HOC which stands for Histoire Olfactive Collective (and aptly translates to “nose” in Russian), is an artistic perfumery created by the world’s best perfumers, writing modern olfactive history through fragrances inspired by lifestyles and stories.

Founded by Masha Zanier, a young Parisian of Russian and Georgian heritage, she originally came from the fashion realm, and this sparked her interest in the story of the designer, which she carried through to HOC.

Interestingly, every year one of the perfumers will create a scent in partnership with HOC, exploring a theme completely of their choosing. Expect inspirations drawn from favorite places, books, people, films and beloved cities around the world. This modern philosophy is encapsulated within an edgy bottle featuring an intricate cap that’s encrypted with a map of a city, sending its wearer on a perfume passage.

The debut HOC story is brought to you by Vincent Schaller, renowned perfumer of Firmenich. Made up of three chapters there’s English Rose, Tea Time and The Club London is at the heart of this scent. It's only right then, that you can purchase the trio within the famous beauty hall of the Fortnum & Mason store in the heart of Piccadilly, London.

Felicity Carter: What was your first fashionable memory?

Masha Zanier: I’ve always been attracted to the unusual, something unique that no one has. I remember trying on all my mom’s wardrobe, mixing it with my own and trying to have a different look for every day at school. I also started traveling pretty early and every trip was an inspiration and definitely style changing. I have to say, I’m still the same though.

FC: What is luxury to you?

MZ: For me a luxury product definitely needs to have an idea, a story, has to be done with taste and with quality materials. But it’s not only about those elements. Luxury is something that makes you feel distinguished and unique. 

FC: Who is your customer?

MZ: People who love artistic perfumery, art and stories, someone with a particular taste.

FC: What are the cornerstones of your company?

MZ: Quality. Novelty. Integrity. Creative freedom.

HOC was created with with the idea of having a platform where the perfumer can really express themselves and create something different. 

FC: Which was the first-ever fragrance that you designed and how did it come about?

MZ: HOC is my first ever designed perfumes. The idea came from fashion. I wanted to celebrate the artists behind the industry.

FC: Tell us about HOC and the process...

MZ: I was working in the fashion industry for a while, previously owning a fashion brand, and I noticed that in the fashion world everything is based around the designer, but in the perfume industry we hardly know who the “stars” are. I wanted to change that and got in touch with Vincent Schaller to create the first HOC perfume that were inspired by London. The entire process took almost 2 years. 

FC: What are your immediate and long term goals for your company?

MZ: The immediate goal is to develop our retail network and open perfumery points of sales in places such as hotels, concept corners, fashion and vintage stores. We want to work with non-traditional sale points. 

The long term goal is to have a “voice” to draw attention to perfumers as artists. 

Shop the scent at Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1A 1ER.