UNUM - from fabric to scent
UNUM is an Italian niche perfume house created by artist and designer Filippo Sorcinelli. The line was launched in 2014 and takes its name from the Latin word for "one," reflecting Sorcinelli's belief in perfume as a singular, personal form of expression.
UNUM exists at the intersection of fragrance, art, design, and spirituality. And it's closely connected to Sorcinelli's broader creative practice, which is unlike anything else in perfumery.
Who Filippo Sorcinelli Actually Is
Filippo Sorcinelli is known internationally for his work designing sacred vestments for the Vatican and major European cathedrals. He creates the robes, chasubles, and liturgical garments worn during Mass in some of the most important religious spaces in the world.
This background has a direct influence on UNUM. The perfumes often reference ritual, incense, silence, shadow, devotion, and introspection. They draw from architectural spaces like churches and monasteries, as well as emotional and spiritual states that most perfume brands wouldn't touch.
This isn't conceptual theater. Sorcinelli actually spends his time in these spaces. He understands their atmospheres intimately. And he translates that understanding into perfume.
What the Fragrances Actually Smell Like
The fragrances themselves are unapologetically expressive. Many UNUM scents are built around incense, resins, woods, leather, florals, and dark balsamic materials, often layered in a way that feels dense, atmospheric, and architectural.
While not every fragrance is incense focused, the collection as a whole leans toward depth rather than freshness, and concept rather than trend. These are perfumes designed to be felt as much as smelled.
They're heavy. They're serious. They don't apologize for taking up space.
The Fragrances People Know
LAVS is the foundational fragrance of the house and one of its most recognizable creations. It draws directly from Sorcinelli's liturgical work, referencing sacred spaces through smoky incense, resins, leather, and spice.
This is what a cathedral smells like. Not the tourist parts. The back rooms where vestments are stored, where incense clings to old wood, where centuries of ritual have soaked into the walls.
Rosa Nigra presents a darker, more dramatic rose interpretation. This isn't garden roses or romantic florals. It's rose through shadow, Gothic and intense.
Opus 1144 reflects medieval inspiration through rich floral oriental construction. The number refers to the year construction began on a specific cathedral. The perfume captures that sense of stone, time, devotion, and grandeur.
More recent releases continue this artistic direction, expanding the collection without softening its identity. UNUM doesn't chase trends. It just keeps building its cathedral.
The Bottles Are Sculptures
Bottle design is a defining element of UNUM. Each fragrance is housed in a unique handcrafted bottle, with variations in shape, texture, and sculptural detail that reflect the individual scent.
Some bottles appear monolithic or architectural, others more organic or tactile. Dark, sculptural caps are often used, but their forms differ across the range.
Rather than following a single bottle template, UNUM treats each fragrance as an object in its own right. This reinforces the idea of perfume as art rather than standardized product.
You don't just buy a bottle of UNUM. You acquire an object that sits on your shelf like a small monument.
Who This Brand Is For
UNUM does not aim for broad appeal. The brand is positioned for those who approach fragrance as art or ritual, and who are comfortable with intensity, shadow, and complexity.
These perfumes are often worn deliberately rather than casually. They tend to resonate with people drawn to incense, Gothic atmospheres, architectural scents, and emotionally charged compositions.
If you want something safe for the office, this isn't it. If you want something that makes you feel like you're walking through a medieval monastery at dusk, UNUM is exactly what you need.
Why This Matters
Across the collection, UNUM maintains a consistent identity: perfume as a personal, almost private experience. It stands apart from trend driven fragrance houses by remaining firmly rooted in Sorcinelli's artistic vision.
There's no brand committee deciding what will sell. No focus groups testing market appeal. Just one person translating their very specific worldview into scent, over and over, without compromise.
This makes UNUM one of the most distinctive and recognizable names in contemporary niche perfumery. You can smell a UNUM fragrance blind and know exactly what you're dealing with.
The Bottom Line
UNUM is what happens when someone with deep artistic practice in a completely different field decides to make perfume. It doesn't smell like other niche brands because it's not coming from the same place.
Sorcinelli isn't a perfumer trying to be artistic. He's an artist who happens to use perfume as one of his mediums. The difference is profound.
If you love incense, ritual, atmosphere, and perfumes that feel like walking into a sacred space, UNUM will make sense immediately. If you don't, it will feel impenetrable and overwhelming.
Either way, it's impossible to ignore.
