“The impossible usually just becomes next year’s project.”
For Bram Niessink, the impossible doesn’t seem to belong in the category of things to avoid or ignore, but rather in the much more fruitful category of what’s worth pursuing. It’s a matter of perspective, perhaps, but also of attitude: being able to view what doesn’t yet exist as a possibility. It is this tenacity, combined with a certain dose of curiosity, that seems to drive Fugazzi, the Dutch fragrance brand that Niessink has built around an idea of luxury free from its usual gravitas.
After all, Fugazzi was born out of a mistake—or at least something like one. During a vacation in Egypt, he tells me, Bram bought a collection of scented oils and brought them back to his small apartment. He began mixing them out of simple curiosity, without really knowing the rules of perfumery, without a precise method, and without any specific intention. Just for fun, for the sake of play, as a gesture. From that random combination, Parfum 1 was born—Fugazzi’s first fragrance. The name itself, Fugazzi—chosen for that fledgling project—means in English something false, an illusion. In reality, the English word has only one “z”: here, in a single added letter, lies another clue that defines the brand—a real yet slightly battered construct, shaped by doubt, pure experimentation, and play. “Fugazzi” was, even before it became an identity, the way Bram had chosen to define that fortunate combination of circumstances. He didn’t know what he was doing, and precisely for that reason, he could afford to do it without worrying too much about what it SHOULD have been. In hindsight, that naivety turned into a genuine form of freedom: not knowing the rules well enough to feel obligated to follow them opens the door to an entirely new creative mindset.
Based on this realization, the name ceased to be just a name and became a statement—a message that was then embodied in a bottle. Because even perfume is a form of illusion. It is invisible yet capable of altering our perception of ourselves; it has no substance, yet it can become extremely present in a space; it cannot be seen, yet it can precede or follow a person, linger on them, and transform the way they move through the world. A seemingly minor gesture like spraying a fragrance on the skin produces something more complex: confidence, attraction, mystery, memory. “In a way, the brand is a double Fugazzi,” says Bram. A double illusion, a double mystery. This ambivalence also permeates the way Fugazzi presents itself. The brand isn’t interested in participating in the often-stodgy rituals of luxury perfumery, preferring a form of irony that doesn’t call the quality into question, but rather the way that quality is presented. “Luxury can still smile,” says Bram. Luxury doesn’t necessarily have to be aloof, exclusive, or intimidating. This is an attitude that I recognize as deeply Dutch (and, being half Dutch myself, I recognize it immediately, on a visceral level). Perfumery can be sophisticated and accessible at the same time—crafted with excellent ingredients but using straightforward names, recognizable without becoming deliberately obscure or abstruse.
A significant part of Fugazzi’s identity lies in this balance. Communication may catch the eye, but it is the fragrance that must then hold that attention over time. Bram is clear on this point: behind the lightheartedness of the image—deliberately kept understated and simple—lies a rigorous focus on substance, on the quality of the formulas, and on collaboration with some of the world’s finest perfumers. And also to the freedom to decide where to allocate its resources. Being an independent, founder-owned brand means having the freedom not to turn every decision into a matter of profit margin: if something can make the fragrance better, then it’s worth investing in. It’s a form of luxury that is entirely synonymous with freedom. Freedom to create what you believe in, to not necessarily chase a trend, to wear what makes you feel good. “Luxury is freedom,” says Bram, shifting the concept from something distant to a possibility. And in doing so, in my opinion, Bram subtly poses another, fundamental question: where does desire originate? Are we sure it lies hidden in the deepest, most distant fantasies—the ones we’re so traditionally accustomed to regarding as unattainable? What if desire actually originated in the very awareness that it can be fulfilled? If a fragrance manages to make us feel immediately more confident, more present, closer to a version of ourselves that we recognize, isn’t that, then, already a form of luxury?
This is also why Fugazzi is so careful to protect its eccentricity. As the brand grew and began working with some of the most important international retailers, there were certainly moments when it would have been easier to tone down certain traits, to make the brand more conformist, more easily understood according to existing codes. Bram, however, says he chose to stand his ground. To remain stubborn. To keep following his instincts even when it would have been more convenient to adapt them. It’s a stubbornness that has something very concrete, new, and decidedly Dutch about it in its simplicity: staying humble, being reliable, speaking transparently, and not overcomplicating what can be simple.
And finally, another crucial element: continuing to have fun. Fugazzi’s authenticity, in fact, also lies in the ability to keep the joy of exploration intact. *Parfum 1* remains the starting point, the trace of that serendipitous moment from which it all began. *Angel Dust*, on the other hand, represents the turning point. When I ask him about it, Bram describes it to me as the moment when that small intuition born in an apartment found a much broader resonance, bringing Fugazzi to an international audience. One is the beginning; the other is the breaking point. In between lies the transformation of an experiment into an identity.
As one might expect at this point, Bram does not view that transformation as a final destination. The future still holds the same sense of uncertainty as the beginning. New ingredients, new technologies, new ideas: perfumery remains a space where what seems unachievable today may simply become the next project tomorrow. This is the essence of Fugazzi: taking what seems impossible and treating it, quite simply, as something that hasn’t been done yet—with the same authenticity that stems from the freest, purest act.
[📷 Courtesy of Fugazzi]
