There are anniversaries, and then there are markers of cultural continuity moments when a house with a century of stories pauses, not to look back, but to refine its place in the present. Acqua di Parma’s 110th anniversary is one of those rare occasions.
Founded in Parma in 1916 by Baron Carlo Magnani, Acqua di Parma has never chased novelty; instead, it has shaped a singular vision of Italian living sunlight over speed, elegance over excess, craftsmanship over spectacle. And so, it feels fitting that the Maison celebrates this milestone not with noise, but with a perfumed meditation: Colonia Il Profumo Millesimato, a fragrance that distils a century of intuition into a single composition.
The Power of a Singular Flower
For this edition, perfumer Alexis Dadier turns to an exceptional 2024 harvest of Ylang-Ylang from Nosy Be- a flower shaped not just by terroir, but by a year of rare meteorological harmony. The result is a material of unusual luminosity, a floral note with its own natural architecture: brightness, shade, warmth, spice.
Rather than reinvent Colonia, Dadier reframes it. The familiar golden citrus, bergamot, blood orange, petitgrain becomes the opening of a deeper conversation, one enriched by rosemary, patchouli, vetiver, and the radiance of that singular harvest. It is Colonia seen through a finer lens, one that reveals what was always there: a quiet grandeur.
Objects for a Modern Ritualist
What accompanies the fragrance is not merchandise but a philosophy made tangible. The new Art of Living pieces- leather pocket charms, candle totems, precision tools for scent – belong to a world where beauty isn’t performed, but practiced. Together, these objects sketch a portrait of contemporary Italianity that is both playful and meticulous.
A Century, Distilled
In an era that moves too quickly to commit to anything, Acqua di Parma’s 110-year celebration feels countercultural. Here is a house unafraid of longevity, unafraid of heritage, unafraid of subtlety — and Colonia Il Profumo Millesimato is its quiet manifesto.
A fragrance created for those who understand that true icons don’t age, they evolve.
