Fragrance house

Gai Mattiolo

Gai Mattiolo, born in Rome in 1968, began as a self-taught designer and presented his first prêt-à-porter collection in Milan in 1987. His early fashion business began with a small Rome atelier funded by his father, while his design identity became associated with vivid color, elaborate luxury, close attention to detail, and sculptural, jewel-like buttons. In 1996, Mattiolo created four ecclesiastical vestments for Pope John Paul II and presented them to him during a private audience on 23 December that year. The brand later expanded beyond fashion into accessories and perfumes. Its fragrance legacy began in 1997 with the eponymous women’s fragrance, classified as floral-fruity and described as the brand’s signature women’s scent. After legal proceedings that began in 2008, Mattiolo was acquitted in the resulting bankruptcy case.