Retail: LabSolue

The air smells sweeter at the Hotel Magna Pars in Milan, a 39-suite property owned by Roberto Martone that sits where his family’s perfume factory once stood. With the moniker Hotel à Parfum, it’s no surprise that fragrance is embedded into the details of the space. Each suite is named after and inspired by a different olfactory element (Gardenia, Bergamot, and Patchouli, to name a few). Similar essences are illustrated through commissioned art pieces, and an aromatic garden blooms in the courtyard. The most recent addition to the property is a perfume laboratory  called LabSolue where guests can bottle their custom-made scent with the help of an onsite nose. Designed by Ambra and Giorgia Martone (Roberto’s daughters), the space is a nod to the pharmaceutical laboratory of cosmetic brand Marvin, another facet of family’s portfolio. Within the store’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls – an existing feature from architects Luciano Maria Colombo, Paolo Benelli, Roberto Murgia, who collectively designed the hotel – are wooden cabinets and countertops reminiscent of a contemporary chemistry workspace, industrial beams, and steel light fixtures. Objects from the family archive, along with fragrance-filled glass funnels and bottles, compete the modern-day apothecary’s led-by-the-nose design.