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If there’s one thing the Emirates has never needed lessons in, it’s fragrance.
This is a region where scent isn’t an accessory, it’s rooted in its culture and heritage – a language spoken in smell, long before “niche perfumery” was a category that was up for marketing consumption.
And the UAE isn’t short of fragrance houses. But what’s rarer is one built with a level of international ambition – Emirati-owned, but speaking fluently to the same audience as Paris and Florence.
Enter GHAFF – a fragrance house founded by Emirati entrepreneurs Bader Nasser Marzooq and Dr. Sultan Al Kokhardi.
A passiong project which has been three years in the making it a deeply personal one with strong roots – quite literally – in the UAE. Namely its moniker, which is after the Ghaf tree – the one plant in the UAE that survives without waiting for rain, sending its roots deeper than anything else around it. Perhaps a fitting emblem for a house built on the idea that authenticity doesn’t need to shout, hence it’s philosophy the Maison embodies: “rooted to rise”.
The debut collection numbers six fragrances – Murban, Délice, Jaywan, Rabdan, L’Encre, and Giardino – each an Eau de Parfum and with an individual connection and representation of the UAE’s story.
And with internationally acclaimed noses – Quentin Roussel, Céline Ripert, Elodie Bernard and Rosa Vaia – at the helm of the creation of each scent, complete with a 20 per cent fragrance concentration, it’s clear from the outset GHAFF intends to be on the international fragrance stage, whilst also harnessing its roots.
With its Emirati founders at the forefront, it’s a house that has been built with grit and determination and a true passion to showcase the story of the UAE, as reflected by Marzooq.
“Fragrance has never been simply a product to me; it is identity, memory, and culture,” he says. “GHAFF began with a personal aspiration to express the spirit of the United Arab Emirates through the universal language of fragrance.”
Similarly echoed by co-founder Dr Al Kokhardi, he highlights GHAFF is here not only to create exceptional fragrances, but to build a complete fragrance house where every detail reflects dedication to craftsmanship.”
The Maison is a fitting addition to a growing scene – one more voice proving the UAE’s story in scent can be told from the inside, in its own words. GHAFF was simply built to rise and take that on.
