Nishane

Founded 2012 · Istanbul, Turkey · Mert Güzel and Murat Katran

Nishane is Turkey's first niche house and the one that has best translated the crossing of East and West that Istanbul stands for. Hacivat and Ani are its two big names, and its presentation — black bottles with a colour band — is unmistakable.

History

Mert Güzel and Murat Katran founded the house in Istanbul in 2012 and presented it as Turkey's first niche perfumery. Its catalogue works the ground the house geographically occupies: frankincense and resins of Eastern tradition composed with French technique. Hacivat, from 2017 — pineapple, grapefruit and patchouli — is the one that made it known in the West and is often mentioned in the same breath as Aventus. The house is organised into collections with names taken from Ottoman and Anatolian culture.

Iconic models

Hacivat (2017)
Pineapple, grapefruit and patchouli. The one that put the house on the map outside Turkey.
Ani
Vanilla and bergamot, after the ruined medieval Armenian city.
Wulong Cha
Smoked oolong tea; among the finest compositions in the catalogue.

Worth knowing

"Hacivat" is a character from the Turkish shadow theatre, the Karagöz. Almost all the house's names come from Ottoman culture, not from the French that niche usually demands.