Discothèque founders Jessie Willner and Hanover Booth are on a mission to translate the hedonism and euphoria of being at a great party into scent.

The brand’s first line of candles, launched in early 2023, evokes the feeling of eating yuzu cake on a Tokyo dance floor at the turn of a millennium, partying with poets in an abandoned Parisian bathhouse in 1979, or exclusive evenings in mythical clubs such as the Mudd Club or Chez Castel. The first, a watering hole for the 1980s New York art scene, was imagined as a scent of whiskey and vanilla, with hints of a peach-flavored cocktail and Robert Mapplethorpe’s portrait of a flower; the decadence of Paris’ Chez Castel smells of “velvet, incense and a cocktail of lemon drops.”

Discotheque’s first perfume collection

“We decided to name the candles after legendary nightclubs because everyone was part of them or wished they were,” says Willner. But for the brand’s latest project, a wearable perfume collection, the pair felt it was time to step beyond the confines of certain clubs in favor of a broader context.

Then, each of the new fragrances references a particular city at a particular time, from LA in 1986 to Marrakech in 2003. Of the collection, Willner’s favorite is ‘Lola at Coat Check (New York, 1992)’, a blend of musky notes. with a hint of white chocolate. However, Booth’s is ‘Call for a Good Time (Tokyo, 2000)’. “It’s a floral scent, but has a weird, abstract feel because it’s inspired by the look of lasers on the dance floor,” she explains. And it smells just as interesting as this description suggests, with ylang-ylang, jasmine and musk. “Every time I wear it, people stop me and ask me what it is,” Hanover adds.

Discotheque is a ‘passion project taken too far’, Hannover jokes. But this is exactly why it makes the brand so attractive. “Everything you see has been touched by us,” she continues.

This extends from the packaging to the brand’s visual identity and the new perfume bottles: thick cubes of colored glass with a chrome plate on the front and a square cap decorated like a disco ball.

Even though Discothèque perfumes are inspired by the night, they are surprisingly suitable for daytime. According to Booth, they can even enrich your mundane daily activities with a certain energy. “When I put on these scents, I feel the excitement of the stories we have created,” she says.