When matter finds its own space: Luca Maffei's signature style

(c)DR

The memory that opens his olfactory memory is not an academic lesson but an image: the warm copper of a bottle, the green, almost salty smell of a Sample placed on a strip of paper, and a father who, without detour, shows him how to name what he smells. This simple gesture turned a child's curiosity into a profession. Today, Luca Maffei is a perfumer and co-founder of a Milan-based fragrance house, renowned for his work with niche brands and his award-winning creations, while directing Atelier Fragranze Milano.

Early inspirations

Born and trained in Italy, Luca Maffei grew up in a professional environment deeply rooted in perfumery. His father worked at both Symrise and International Flavors and Fragrances, exposing the young Luca to laboratory Samples and encounters with renowned perfumers such as Dominique Ropion and Michel Almairac. His apprenticeship combines field and school: internships and encounters with master perfumers, a formative period in Grasse, and technical training with recognized establishments and figures in the trade. Early on, these experiences exposed her to the raw materials - jasmine, iris, woods - and to the alchemy of dosages that sculpt a fragrance. These experiences, combined with an almost methodical curiosity, led him to a mature vision of the profession: understanding the material before trying to tame it.

Luca Maffei's olfactory style

Luca Maffei's signature oscillates between measure and freedom, and is based on a precise idea: letting each note breathe so that it can find its place. He favors a work of proportion, faithful to a certain Italian culture of harmony, while accepting creative risk.

In Luca Maffei's work, each fragrance seems to tell the story of its own inner climate: light, texture, rhythm. His fragrances emphasize the clarity of materials: powdery iris, pungent black pepper, heated woods and floral accords worked to reveal new dimensions as the hours pass. Her method is neither systematically minimalist nor ostentatiously maximalist; she seeks accuracy of expression, narrative evolution and the tactile sensitivity of materials.

Some emblematic creations

Muda (Comporta Perfumes): a captivating oriental blend of fresh citrus, Damask rose, coffee and precious spices designed to evoke the casual elegance of an evening in Comporta.

Iris Magnifica (competition entry): a structure of powdery iris, where the racy finesse of the flower plays against an earthier background, like a memory of velvet dress and damp ground.

Black Pepper & Sandalwood (Acca Kappa): a spicy-woody duo that juxtaposes the incisiveness of pepper with the creamy warmth of sandalwood, creating a dry yet enveloping trail. This creation won Kappa an international Art & Olfaction Award in 2013.

Beyond creation: a vision of perfume

For Luca Maffei, perfume is both a story and a technical gesture. He says that a nose is a translator: he starts with a brief, a memory or an emotion, and must make it intelligible through the material.

Niche perfumery gives him " permission to take risks " and explore unexpected accords, non-linear structures and little-used ingredients, rather than bending to commercial recipes. He values olfactory narrative, proportion, and the idea that the scent tells the story of personality rather than simply seducing. Each creation starts from an intention, a memory or a brief, which needs to be made tangible through the material.

The Perfumer Behind the Bottles

In interviews, Luca Maffei appears pragmatic and curious. He confides that being both director of a structure and nose demands a new discipline: he must preserve time for creation in the midst of managerial obligations. He says he works in phases: listening carefully to the brief, role-playing to put himself in the customer's shoes, a series of meticulous readjustments and the maturation ofSamples that allow the formula to reach its equilibrium.

The city of Milan is a daily source of inspiration for him: architectural textures, contrasts of light, constant movement.

His values include the enhancement of Italian craftsmanship and a constant concern for coherence between raw materials, formula and final fragrance identity.

Why we follow him at SCENTISSIME

We follow Luca Maffei for his ability to blend tradition and modernity. His creations bear a recognizable signature without being repetitive: they make you feel the material and tell a story. Enthusiasts will find perfumes built with a logic of rendering, holding and storytelling rather than mere media ambition.

Treat yourself to the excellence of Luca Maffei's signature compositions, carefully selected by our curator. Free delivery throughout the European Union, free returns, personalized advice sCENTISSIME accompanies you in your quest for the fragrance that suits you. To smell. To experience.

Would you like to feel Luca Maffei's olfactory signature on your skin? Discover the fragrances he has designed on SCENTISSIME. Which one will win your heart?

Lucca Maffei perfumes on SCENTISSIME

Muda N/A
€165.00

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