After more than three decades shaping some of the world’s most awarded advertising work, creative leader Nils Andersson is beginning a bold new chapter — this time in luxury perfumery.
Having co-founded the acclaimed China-based creative agency Stig&Xi in 2018, Andersson has never been one to stand still. In a rapidly changing industry marked by shrinking budgets, AI disruption, and collapsing agency models, he believes creative people must adapt — not wait.
“If we can’t control where the future goes, at least we can control what we choose to create.”
A New Creative Chapter
The idea for Andersson’s next venture emerged naturally. His brother, Paul Andersson, President of Firmenich China and a fragrance industry veteran of over 30 years, brought deep expertise in scent creation. Combined with Nils’s background in craft, storytelling, and design, the foundation for something entirely new was set.
Together with a talented Chinese team — including designer Onyx Liu, partner Maxine Jia, and Miika Sun — they asked a simple question: What if luxury fragrance could authentically tell Chinese stories?
Introducing FIFTYSIX
The answer became FIFTYSIX — a fine-fragrance brand inspired by the rich cultural heritage of China’s diverse ethnic groups.
Designed as a luxury brand by China, for China, and ultimately the world, FIFTYSIX challenges the clichés often associated with Chinese luxury. Instead of borrowing foreign identities, it celebrates authentic cultural roots through myth, craft, and imagination.
China’s fragrance history spans more than 5,000 years, deeply connected to health, spirituality, beauty, and pleasure — long before perfume became commonplace in the West.
Craft, Culture & Contemporary Design
FIFTYSIX debuts with eight unisex fragrances, each created by world-class master perfumers and rooted in a distinct cultural narrative — from Mongolian long-song traditions to ancient Miao indigo dyeing practices.
The bottle design reimagines ancient Chinese water vessels through a modern lens, featuring a central aperture — a window into the soul of each story. Packaging draws inspiration from traditional medicine cabinets, reinforcing the connection between scent, ritual, and heritage.
One standout fragrance, SOMA’S TEAR, reinterprets a tragic Yi legend of forbidden love — set 2,000 years into the future — reminding us that love, like scent, is eternal.
Built With China, Not About China
Historians, cultural researchers, artists, filmmakers, and scent specialists collaborated closely to ensure every story is told with respect, depth, and authenticity — avoiding abstraction or exoticism.
For Andersson, the project is deeply personal.
“China has shaped my life and career in so many ways. FIFTYSIX is my way of giving something back — telling Chinese stories to the world through fragrance.”
A Bold New Direction
Launching this month in Shanghai, FIFTYSIX marks a powerful shift from advertising to luxury craftsmanship — and a reminder that creativity, when applied bravely, can always find new forms.
It’s not just a fragrance brand.
It’s a new chapter in modern Chinese luxury — rooted in heritage, elevated by craft, and driven by imagination.
