Officine Universelle Buly 1803 with its brand new space in Milan, on Via Brera (the fragrance street), opens its doors to an experience of beauty and wonder in which to immerse oneself. Perfumes and personal care products of the highest quality, an ancient and singular legacy recounted by Balzac, customisable, hand-written packaging that tells a story of love for the world of beauty, collecting and craftsmanship. A place that pays homage to Milanese architecture: boiseries, travertine floors, dark marble walls veined with black and green where gold letters in relief stand out. We spoke with Victoire de Taillac and Ramdane Touhami, co-founders of Officine Universelle Buly 1803, about continuous research, inspiration and creativity always linked to a study of the past with archives, books and original collectors’ pieces to preserve traditional beauty rituals.
How important is it for a company like yours to be present in the Brera Design District to build a direct relationship with the public?
The Brera design district is one of our favorite neighbourhoods in Milano. We even own a flat there … It reminds us of Saint-Germain des près where our Bonaparte store is located. We thought this elegant area would be a perfect fit for our first store in Italy. There is an excellent mix of clients, italian, milanese and international crowd who is in the city for business and pleasure.
How much does it matter, in terms of positioning, being present in a historical context like Brera?
L’Officine Universelle Buly has a beautiful history and its aura shines through in this type of districs. Its unique selection of perfumes, skincare products and beauty accessories will catch the eye of passersby and locals alike.
Know-how, quality and craftsmanship are some of the ingredients of Officine Universelle Buly. How important is it for a brand like yours to be constantly researching?
We see Officine Universelle Buly as a perpetual work in progress. We mostly follow our inspiration but We will learn from the past through archives, books or antics pieces we collect. We are very curious from know-how, traditional craftsmanship and traditional beauty rituals. It feeds our creativity.
For the 2023 edition, Brera Design Week offers a reflection on how we imagine our future, our cohesion between humans in relation to the uniqueness of our times. What are the projects that you are planning to participate in?
In 2023 we are launching a very unexpected series of new scents. Nature has always been a very big inspiration from us through our collection of natural beauty secrets from all around the world and this will be our driver also for this launch. We all know the relationship of human beings with nature is a crucial subject for reflection now and for the years to come.
Victoire de Taillac and Ramdane Touhami share a passion for travel and research, curiosity for new knowledge and respect for tradition, the audacity to innovate, precision and efficiency as key principles. All threads that intersect in the weave of each of their projects. After meeting in the 2000s, they started travelling the world: Paris, Brooklyn, Jaipur, Tangier, Tokyo. A nomadic life that has fuelled their philosophy and aesthetic creativity. Ramdane is a designer, as well as an entrepreneur and art collector. Victoire has worked in the fashion and beauty industry for several years. Together they form a creative, atypical and very Parisian couple. Each of the houses they have lived in has been decorated by declining personal taste according to local tradition, with results praised each time by prestigious publications: Vogue, The New York Times, Financial Times, Le Monde, The Guardian…
Today, they jointly run Officine Universelle Buly with increasingly popular boutiques in Paris and around the world (Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom, Taiwan, United States, Australia).
