Fragrance house

Sous le Manteau

Sous le Manteau was founded in 2016 by Olivia Bransbourg, whose earlier work included launching ICONOfly in 2006 and Attache-Moi in 2009, then directing Takasago’s New York creation studio from 2012 to 2015. The brand’s concept began with Bransbourg’s discovery of an old book of love-potion and aphrodisiac recipes, which became the creative basis for the house. Publicly introduced at Paris’s Maison Souquet in December 2016, Sous le Manteau reinterprets clandestinely transmitted formulas for contemporary sensibilities, framing its identity around intimacy, seduction and desire; its name refers to the French expression for acting under the cloak, or covertly. Bransbourg is the founder and artistic director, while perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer reworked the historical recipes for contemporary compositions. The house’s defining fragrance direction is its love-potion-inspired elixir collection: five fragrances were first presented at Nuit Blanche with a perfume-matching performance, and the response led to the collection’s launch and an online matching service; the brand now describes six elixirs. It received the Fragrance Foundation UK Newcomer Award and was a finalist for the Fragrance Foundation USA Indie Award.