Melanie Dir doesn’t have to dig deep into her subconscious to excavate some of her earliest scent memories because they’re embedded into her very being. The global beauty executive began her fragrance journey as an infant born in Cannes, absorbing the ins and outs of the trade from her father, master perfumer Claude Dir. Her father even went so far as to build a nursery in his scent lab while he developed the family-owned fragrance house MANE. Due to her constant proximity to the craft, the world of scent wasn’t something Dir chased or aspired to — rather, she inherited it.

At just six years old, when the other kids were toying with stuffed animals, Dir was learning about raw materials and scent composition. To the olfactory prodigy, perfumery doesn’t feel like something she suddenly unlocked a passion for — rather, it lay latent in her system, awaiting a moment of illumination. “Perfumery isn’t just a category to me — it’s in my blood,” she shared. Now, after three decades of brand building and collaborating with some of the beauty pioneers, from Isamaya Ffrench to Laura Mercier, that moment has come. Bringing together her appreciation for olfactory innovation, as well as a love for architecture, Dir introduces her own line, GAMINE.

Through the newly launched brand, Dir presents a distinct focus on fragrance as an artistic medium. Her scents evoke feelings, of course, featuring awakening notes like Côte D’azur Cypress and Chocolate Noir. But Dir doesn’t aim to lean on nostalgia to sell her scents. She instead intends to highlight innovation and design through intentional materiality. She expanded on this design inspiration, sharing, “It’s architectural, built on structure, weight, and form.” The world of fragrance can often feel intangible — like an indescribable fantasy we can’t actually reach out and grasp. Notes are often characterized using esoteric descriptors, but Dir’s goal is to give scent a sense of concreteness through her tactile designs and packaging, which are grounded by weighted glass and architecturally sound, wearable carriers. Each physical bottle is crafted with palpability in mind, bridging the gap between object and body.

We sat down with Dir ahead of the brand’s April 30 launch to discuss how she’s reframing luxury fragrance codes, below.

Perfumery is in your blood as your father is a master perfumer, and you were born in Cannes, the epicenter of the craft. What is your earliest scent memory?

Dir: The lab was my first home and playground. My parents built my crib there while my father developed the MANE fragrance house in the US, and my mother compounded formulas beside him. The air was raw and intense, full of essential oils and dense resins. My relationship with scent formed before I could speak; it’s an innate language that never left. The moment I enter a lab today, it all returns — raw, familiar, formative.

What are some of the most valuable lessons you learned from your father’s mentorship?

Discipline and observation shaped everything. My father began training my nose at six, instilling a rigorous approach to the craft. I observed his evolution into a master perfumer, defined by precision and respect. What stayed with me most was his character. He is effortlessly charismatic, grounded in kindness and deeply humble.

Since then, you fostered a love for the broader beauty world, working with the likes of Laura Mercier, Virgil Abloh, and Isamaya Ffrench. What tools did you absorb from those experiences, working with experts within their respective fields?

I feel grateful to have worked alongside some of the greatest creatives in their fields. Over time, I’ve developed a set of principles that guide my approach

I’m very disciplined and have very high standards when it comes to product development. Precision, performance, and execution are non-negotiable, and education is considered an integral part of the experience. I place strong value on authentic connection. I want to ensure everything feels grounded, relevant, and aligned with how people truly live. I focus on ideating new concepts that refresh the historical language of perfumery, approaching tradition with clarity, intention, and a forward perspective.

Eventually, you landed on fragrance as your primary medium. What spurred you to zero in on fragrance?

After nearly three decades in beauty, launching my own fragrance house was a conscious step. Perfumery isn’t just a category to me — it’s in my blood. I felt a conviction to create something with intent and a defined point of view. For years, the category has been too focused on nostalgia, and with GAMINE, I am putting innovation and design at the forefront. Launching GAMINE feels like a passing of the baton, honoring the olfactive integrity that was instilled in me while advancing it through my own lens.

Creating fragrances is just as emotional as it is a science. How do you balance that push and pull in your scent creation process?

I think less about emotion and more about identity — how the scent becomes one with the wearer. It moves with them, shaping how they’re experienced. It becomes part of their presence.

Molecular innovation is a big part of what sets GAMINE apart from other fragrance houses on the market. Walk me through your process of conceptualizing and then actually creating a new scent?

I see fragrances as living characters. Growing up in the lab shaped how I compose. Each material carries presence, tension, and contrast. I visualize how they interact, how they collide, and how they build identity on skin. I’m not interested in harmony. The strongest compositions come from elements that resist each other — notes not meant to blend seamlessly. That friction creates something more provocative. That tension defines the GAMINE scent palette.

“Launching GAMINE feels like a passing of the baton, honoring the olfactive integrity that was instilled in me while advancing it through my own lens.”

How do you come up with the names for your scents?

Naming is its own language — a code. I think of naming fragrances more like titling a film than describing a scent. It doesn’t explain, it sets the tone.

Each name begins with a state, something psychological, physical, or even energetic, rather than an ingredient. I’m interested in what the scent does to you, how it shifts your perception or behavior. The name becomes a distilled signal of that idea.

Altered States came from a shift in perception, a frequency you tune into. It’s about presence through vibration, something almost sacred.

Heroic Dose sits in opposition. It’s about excess. Overuse without guilt. That point of indulgence that tips into something euphoric, almost intoxicating.

1000g is the weight of a brick of gold, something that oozes richness — a kind of beautiful heaviness that lingers and anchors.

Across all of them, the intention is the same: the name doesn’t describe the scent, it frames the experience.

“I’m not interested in harmony. The strongest compositions come from elements that resist each other — notes not meant to blend seamlessly. That friction creates something more provocative.”

You design in Brooklyn, batch in Grasse, and compose collections in Milan. How do all of these regions each leave their own mark on a GAMINE fragrance?

Each location serves a function. Brooklyn is grit — raw and instinctive. Grasse is heritage — materials, craft, lineage. Milan is control — engineering, precision, execution. No overlap. Just a system that defines the final form.

Each place I work from carries a distinct energy. Brooklyn is where I stay close to instinct. It’s raw, immediate — a kind of creative friction I need. Grasse is something deeper and more personal. It’s heritage, discipline, and materials. It’s where my foundation was formed. Milan signifies engineering, precision, and execution.

I don’t blend those environments. I move through them deliberately. Each one holds a role in how the work comes together, and that structure is what ultimately defines the final form.

Tell me about the architectural influence that’s embedded into your collections. Why is the tactile experience important to you when creating your products?

The aesthetic is intentionally brutalist. It’s architectural, built on structure, weight, and form. Tactility is essential — it creates a direct, almost haptic connection. It transforms fragrance from something intangible into something physical, something lived.

How is that translated through your packaging?

The weight of the glass, the tension of the rubber, the heavy cord, the functional metal carabiner — I designed each element to connect object and body, and to be functional. It transforms fragrance into something physical — something lived, constructed to last, not to feel precious.

You also custom-designed your own eco-rubber. How important are sustainable considerations within your process of selecting materials and ingredients?

Rubber has a unique duality. It’s protective and industrial, yet highly refined. We engineered it for longevity and to be resistant to extreme conditions, aging, and repeated use. It reduces reliance on disposable materials and carries a lower energy footprint than traditional plastics. It also allows partial recycling of production waste. More importantly, it’s built to last.

“Tactility is essential — it creates a direct, almost haptic connection. It transforms fragrance from something intangible into something physical, something lived.”

Scent’s power is in its ability to transport wearers or immediately evoke certain feelings. Where do you hope your wearers are transported when they put on a GAMINE scent?

I’m less interested in transporting someone elsewhere and more in grounding them deeper into themselves. GAMINE isn’t about escape — it’s about amplification. It sharpens presence, heightens awareness, and reinforces identity in real time. Wherever you are, it meets you there and intensifies it.

Check out the GAMINE universe, launching April 30, online at gamineparfums.com.