Rhizome

Rhizome is an Italian niche fragrance brand based near Milan, trading as Rhizome SRLS. It was founded by the brothers Stefano and Andrea Aschieri, who set out to make unisex perfume that is affordable and, in their words, fun — a deliberate break from what the company calls the "sky-high prices" and "faux exclusivity" of conventional niche perfumery. The house builds its fragrances around in-house research rather than outside perfumers, and packages them in a stripped-down, largely numbered format.

The brand's own About page dates the founding to 2019 [2], while the Italian editorial nss G-Club records it as "end of 2018" [9]; the likeliest reading is that the company formed in late 2018 and the brand launched in 2019. Rhizome remains active, with its numbered range extended to a Rhizome 08 in 2024 and a fully operating online shop offering worldwide shipping [13].

The founders are Italian, and the project has a family core in the Aschieri brothers. The brand's About page names only Stefano and Andrea Aschieri [2]; nss G-Club adds a third co-founder, Dario Pozzi, who is described as handling fragrance research alongside Andrea Aschieri [9]. The two accounts do not contradict each other, and the editorial detail is the more complete, so all three are treated here as founders.

The name is drawn from botany. A rhizome is a plant stem that grows sideways and sends out roots and shoots as it spreads — a "non-linear mode of growth," as the retailer-editorial 50 ml puts it, which the founders take as a metaphor for building scents by combining "inspirations from different worlds, such as art, design, fashion and architecture" [10].

Rhizome launched with a numbered series of Eau de Parfums, originally running from 01 to 05 [9]. A sixth, Rhizome 06, followed around 2020. Distribution grew quickly: by early 2020 the brand reported roughly seventy retail points across Europe, among them 10 Corso Como in Milan, Archive in Paris and Lodenfrey in Munich [9]. The numbered line has since been extended, reaching Rhizome 08 — described as a woody, spiced composition — in 2024 [13].

Rhizome frames itself as an entry point to niche perfumery for a younger audience. The company's stated mission is "making superior fragrances for the new generations," and its manifesto rejects gendered scent: "No gender, no pretence, no compromise. Just the notes that matter." One of its recurring lines — "Perfume shouldn't be rocket science; it should be fun" — sums up the plain, unpretentious register the brand cultivates [2].

That register carries into the product design. The house favours minimalism, with pared-back packaging and fragrances identified largely by number rather than evocative names. According to nss G-Club, each composition is built around two main ingredients meant to balance one another — pairings such as incense and patchouli, yuzu and vetiver, or oud and tobacco — and the Eau de Parfums are formulated at a 16 percent concentration [9]. The same source places Rhizome in "a very small space" between mass-market perfume and the more exclusive artistic houses, aimed at younger buyers who want something that "smells contemporary" without the usual price.

Pricing supports that positioning: the numbered Eau de Parfums sell at around €110 for 50 ml, below the €200-plus tier of higher-end niche houses. Retailer profiles describe the brand simply as an "affordable and fun true niche brand" [12].

The core range is the numbered Eau de Parfum series, spanning citrus, floral, woody, amber and gourmand families and marketed as unisex scents for self-expression. Alongside it, Rhizome runs a "Rhizome Lab" collection of experimental, limited-edition Eau de Parfums — including Tropical Dance, Desert Dusk, Concrete Tide and Crushed Symphony — pitched at "the curious and the collectors." Recurring materials across the fragrances include incense, patchouli, yuzu, vetiver, oud, tobacco, amber and cedarwood.

Beyond fine fragrance, the house extends into room sprays, diffusers and candles, roll-on perfume oils that mirror the numbered EDPs, and a bodycare line. The company states that its products are vegan and sulphate-free, and its fragrances are labelled Made in Italy [1]. No third-party certifications are recorded.

Rhizome operates as Rhizome SRLS, with its registered headquarters in Arconate in the Metropolitan City of Milan and a second address in Como. No parent company is recorded; the brand appears to remain independent. Production is based in the Milan area, an established region for Italian fragrance and cosmetics manufacturing.

Coverage of the brand is limited but present. The Italian outlet nss G-Club published an editorial profile in 2020 examining its founders, in-house perfumery and early European rollout [9]. Rhizome is also catalogued on the fragrance database Fragrantica, which lists the house with a set of perfumes including the numbered 01 to 08 and named releases such as Concrete Tide, Crushed Symphony and Desert Dusk [13].

Rhizome is active. Its most recent recorded release is Rhizome 08 in 2024, and its website continues to operate with worldwide shipping and a stockist network spanning Italy and numerous countries across Europe, and further afield in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the UAE.