Aedes de Venustas

Aedes de Venustas founders Robert Gerstner and Karl Bradl are turning a new page in the Aedes de Venustas story with the relaunch of their inhouse perfume brand.

Aedes de Venustas means Temple of Beauty in Latin, and it is with a reverence for those who make fine art with scent that the brand was born in 2012. It is a collaboration between Gerstner, Bradl, and their friends, who just happen to be the best noses in the world. Decades of fragrance knowledge and far-flung inspiration come together to create a body of work that feels studied, addictive, and modern. We are the storytellers, Gerstner says. They make the magic. The renowned perfumers behind Aedes de Venustas extraordinary scents include Bertrand Duchaufour, Alberto Morillas, Fabrice Pellegrin, Ralf Schweiger, Nathalie Feisthauer and Frank Voelkl.

The relaunch begins with a reintroduction of seven of the existing fragrances: its first, Signature (2012), Iris Nazarena (2013), Copal Azur (2014), Palissandre d’Or (2015), Cierge de Lune (2016), Grenadille d’Afrique (2016), and Pelargonium (2017).

A flamboyant and baroque sensibility is present in all of the Aedes de Venustas scents, which tend to center on rare botanicals and incense. Gerstner and Bradl’s shorthand with the perfumers allows them the freedom to experiment with bold, highly contemporary accords and finished scents that often center around a single vegetal muse.

Their visionary expertise and the master perfumer’s skill allow for seamless artistic collaborations, with many resulting in award-winning fragrances: Iris Nazarena won the Fragrance Foundation Award for Perfume Extraordinaire of the Year in 2014, and Pelargonium won the Russian FIFI Fragrance Award winner for Unique Niche in 2017.

The finished works are presented in a re-designed fluted glass bottle marked by peacock blue accents, a matte black insignia-stamped cap, and a sleek yet weighty design that marks the next chapter in the Aedes de Venustas story. The particular peacock blue shade is a nod to the original location of Aedes de Venustas on Christopher Street, the birthplace of the brand and so much of its ethos.