EX NIHILO’s New Fragrance Is Choreographed To Perfection

You don’t need to be a professional dancer to recognise the feeling of euphoria elicited by the freedom of the dance floor. Being able to move freely to music unselfconsciously is one of life’s great liberations. It’s also what inspired the newest fragrance from Parisian haute parfumerie house EX NIHILO, Demon Dancer.

Drawing upon the rhythms of a dance performance, Demon Dancer moves through intensity and subtlety in the way it unfolds on the skin. It’s fresh one moment, heady the next, replicating the ebb and flow of contemporary choreography.

Since the brand’s inception in 2013, EX NIHILO has been rooted in collaboration, selecting some of the fragrance world’s most recognised perfumers to work with the house on their creations. For Demon Dancer, EX NIHILO once again tapped master perfumer Jordi Fernández, with whom the brand has worked on 14 previous scents, to create a robust fragrance that called to mind the body in motion.

Opening with the zippy vibrancy of rhubarb, the scent is at first fresh. Citrus and peppermint lend brightness, which gives way to a floral fruitiness owing to orange blossom and blackcurrant. As the fragrance settles, it evolves into a woody-amber structure. Georgywood and Akigalawood bring texture while musks and tonka bean soften and conclude the performance.

To bring Demon Dancer to life, EX NIHILO called upon choreographer and movement director Loys Assal, who was tasked with translating the energy of the scent into an evocative campaign. Shot on location at Maison Flagey in Brussels, a monumental radio station from the ’70s designed by Joseph Diongre, the campaign is dynamic and visceral, telling the fragrance’s story through captivating visuals and the dancers’ energetic movement move through the historic space.

Much like a routine, Demon Dancer continually changes course. It’s unexpected, dynamic, enrapturing — like all good performances should be.