Gabar is the brand turning Myanmar folklore into scent

The word Gabar means “world” in Myanmar. It’s a name that feels expansive for a perfume brand, but for founders Susan Wai Hnin and Phway Su Aye it captures everything they want their project to be: “a conscious, reflective, and creative world.”

From the beginning, Gabar has steered away from the escapism often promised by fragrance in favour of something more grounded. The brand was born in the turbulence of the pandemic, with one founder in Myanmar and the other quarantining alone in New York. Across continents, they began sketching out a vision that tethered them together: perfumes that carried the untold stories of Myanmar to the wider world. “The idea at the beginning was to build a brand that would bring our heritage to the world stage, given all the conflict it had been going through,” Su Aye explains. “Tied to this effort was also building a brand world that would inspire people to look within, and grapple with concepts of selfhood and self-development, inspired by southeast Asian and east Asian philosophies.”

Nearly five years later, that vision has taken form in a brand that creates fragrances channelling Myanmar’s mythology. Their latest release, The Deities Collection, is inspired by three mythical beings – Nagar Min, Balu and Galone. Working with perfumer Ezra-Lloyd Jackson, the pair translated these figures into scent: from the fiery chilli and Sichuan pepper of Nagar Min, and the cocoa, dates, and condensed milk of Balu, to Galone’s punchy blend of sesame, smoked nuts and volcanic caramel. “With this collection, we wanted to push the boundaries in the category of gourmands and bring the Gabar essence of creativity and introspection to the forefront,” says Wai Hnin.

Below, the co-founders reflect on Gabar’s beginnings, their latest collection and the worlds they’re building through fragrance.

How does folklore influence the scents you create?

Susan Wai Hnin: Myanmar folklore played a big role in our upbringings, with our older generations passing down stories of the gods, spirits and creatures – folklore is ingrained in Myanmar culture. Many of the creatures in Myanmar mythology are part human or capable of assuming human form, and oftentimes they are endowed with humanistic qualities as well as supernatural powers. 

What can you tell us about the new collection?

Susan Wai Hnin: With the new Deities Collection, we wanted to explore the complexity of human nature through the form of scent. We felt there were many valuable takeaways from these stories about the dualities that exist in humans – especially the light and dark in us all. 

What’s Gabar doing differently to other brands out there?

Phway Su Aye: Susan and I both pride ourselves on coming into perfume with outsider perspectives. The world of fragrance and scent come incredibly naturally to us both, but we like to think our diverse personal passions and experiences make our interactions with scent unique. Gabar is an amalgamation of all this. A combination of our deep interests in art, creativity, heritage, storytelling and spirituality, with the rich and long-running world of fragrance. 

What’s one note that reminds you of home?

Susan Wai Hnin: Sesame is one note that reminds me a lot of home because it’s used in a lot of Myanmar cooking – we use it as a garnish on dishes, as well as in a lot of desserts. We have sesame as a key note in our new Galone fragrance now. Sesame is warm and nutty, and has a very comforting feel, which can be immediately transporting. 

What’s been a highlight for the brand? 

Phway Su Aye: Definitely being able to grow and nurture a strong, genuine community around our fragrances and brand. We started off really entrenched in the London creative community. It was really the backbone of our brand. But then, as our brand has grown, we’ve been able to find similar pockets across the world, in New York and Paris for example.

The event you hosted at Concrete Studio was great – how do you connect Gabar to the wider community?

Phway Su Aye: We loved hosting an essential oil workshop with Concrete! The owner is a friend of the brand, and actually the illustrator behind the boxes of our Rise and Lull perfumes. We loved everything she was building with the Concrete Community. The studio was a perfect space for hosting an intimate workshop, getting people to come to mix their own scents, and understand more about how fragrances are conceived and structured. We keep our events pretty organic and community-led, meaning ideas come up fairly intuitively from the creative community around us. Events like this help us stay physical and connected and able to be more in tune with what our community is seeking. 

What’s the weirdest or most unexpected inspiration that’s ever made its way into a fragrance?

Phway Su Aye: I remember a one-on-one conversation we were having with our perfumer Gus Romero for our Urban line. We kept telling him we wanted the effect of one of our fragrances to be like the inside of a supermarket freezer. That sort of strange, cooling, airy kind of smell, but something that more powerful supermarket freezers generally have. 

Is there a scent you’ve always wanted to make but haven’t yet?

Phway Su Aye: There are some very conceptual ideas we’ve always wanted to turn into scent, but haven’t quite done so yet. Beyond the things that physically surround us now, we get excited about translating certain ethereal ideas – what does the underworld smell like, for example? It’s fun to push the boundaries of scent ideas to things beyond our normal lived experiences to things that are more fantastical or imagined.

The Gabar Deities collection is availiable online here.