SAFF & Co. and Nindita Kirana Translate Sisterhood Through a Hummingbird in a Visual Collaboration
SAFF & Co. invites us to look at sisterhood through ALENCINE and MECHLINE, two new extrait de parfum released in collaboration with illustrator Nindita Kirana. The collection explores femininity and sisterhood through two women with different personalities, each representing the modern woman of today.
ALENCINE portrays a woman with strong charisma, bold and confident in standing out. MECHLINE balances her with a softer, romantic character. Both names come from traditional European lace. ALENCINE derives from "Alençon," a French lace made with the needle lace technique, known for its structured patterns, precise detail, and firm character. MECHLINE is inspired by "Mechlin," a Belgian lace made with the bobbin technique, which produces a lighter, softer pattern.
Nindita translated this idea into the hummingbird illustration that adorns both perfume packages. The ALENCINE and MECHLINE boxes each have a front cover featuring a hummingbird. When the cover is opened, the bird transforms into a female figure, each with her own gestures, expressions, and character. This transition is Nindita Kirana's favorite part. She is the illustrator who designed the packaging for both of SAFF & Co.'s new extrait de parfum.
"I love the transition when the front cover with the hummingbird is opened, because we're invited to imagine how the hummingbird transforms into a female figure," Nindita said.
The hummingbird came out of a long process. The collaboration began with SAFF & Co.'s wish to take the story of the two perfumes beyond scent alone. "This collaboration started from our wish to translate the stories of ALENCINE and MECHLINE into a broader experience, not only through scent, but also through visual elements," said SAFF & Co.
For the fragrances, SAFF & Co. worked with Shyamala Maisondieu, a Global Master Perfumer with experience creating scents for a range of international brands, both designer and niche. ALENCINE opens with cypress and pine needles paired with baie rose (pink pepper). Its heart holds jasmine sambac, pompon rose, and magnolia, and it closes with mousseline, georgywood, and mystikal, which feel warm and earthy. MECHLINE opens with monarda and pompelmo (grapefruit). Violet leaf meets watery lotus, rose de mai, and lily of the valley in the middle, and it finishes with duchess violet, cedarwood, and musk voile, warm and soft.
SAFF & Co.'s signature bottle is dressed in glitter accents for this collection. The box was created with Nindita, who is known for her hand-drawn style, expressive loose lines, and playful, whimsical approach.
Nindita said she was drawn in as soon as she read the story and research behind the collection. "To me, the concept is quite detailed, and both scents carry a sense of femininity, sisterhood, and the power of creation that feels relatable to the stories and values I always try to put into my drawings," she said. She also saw plenty of room for visual exploration. The two perfumes have different characters, but both have a feminine and playful side that she could interpret through her own style. The two shades of pink in the collection also felt close to the way she uses the color. "I use pink as a form of expression in my work," she said.
On the brand's side, SAFF & Co. said that once the direction of the product was clear, they found an artist whose visual approach was aligned with it. According to them, this shared foundation made it easy to bring the brand's identity and Nindita's personal character together. They said they knew well that the artist they chose had a creative approach that matched the collection. Experience has shaped this way of working, since every SAFF & Co. collection's packaging is born from a collaboration with an artist. "Each project we run teaches us how to build a good collaboration with an artist who has a distinct signature, while still staying true to the product and brand direction," said SAFF & Co.
Asked where she began when translating the two perfumes into illustration, Nindita started with story. She tried to build a foundation so that the two different characters would not overpower each other. "I tried to build the story's foundation so that these two different characters wouldn't overpower each other, but instead give each other room to be themselves," she explained. She expressed that idea through the symbol of the hummingbird, delicate and graceful, along with elements representing each character's persona and world.
This approach matches how SAFF & Co. views its own process. They wanted the stories and characters of ALENCINE and MECHLINE to stay strong, while leaving Nindita room to interpret them from her own artistic perspective. A drastic change of concept was not the main issue. The challenge was choosing. Long discussions produced many ideas, all with potential, and the brand had to curate them. "SAFF & Co., as a brand, weighed several considerations to find what is best and most fitting for SAFF & Co.'s consumers and for people who love Nindita Kirana's work," they said.
As the visual elements became clearer, both sides saw that the work could go further. A creative discussion followed about turning Nindita's visual elements into merchandise suited to SAFF & Co.'s audience. The curated result includes T-shirts, a bandana lace cap, enamel pins, and several other products. According to SAFF & Co., this step enriches the audience's experience of getting to know the world of ALENCINE and MECHLINE.
