Founded in 2020 by French perfumer Barnabé Fillion, Arpa Studios centers on synesthesia: the experience of one sense through another. Self-described as an “Institute of Synesthesia,” the project uses fragrance to explore connections between smell, sound, color, and texture. Fillion’s background in photography and botany informs a process that begins with visual impressions and encounters with the natural world. A landscape, a change in light, or a remembered texture is the starting point for a perfume. The concept is then developed alongside music, images, and objects that complement and refine it, yielding a precise yet complex scent that evokes a multisensory experience. Every bottle is inscribed with geographic coordinates that indicate the site of the fragrance’s inspiration.

