With Nicolas Malleville, her perfumer husband, she developed Coqui Coqui, a lifestyle brand born in Yucatán with charming guest houses of “primitive luxury”.
How did this adventure start?
Nicolas, Argentinian of Basque origin, left New York where he worked in fashion, after the shock of September 11. He traveled to Latin America. Then stopped in Mexico, in a nature reserve on the Yucatán Peninsula. In Tulum, he found a piece of beach between two coconut palms where he built a small house. A hidden, paradisiacal destination where he composed his perfumes and where his New York friends came to visit him and relax. Word of mouth worked, and the whole fashion jet set asked her to praise her. He started working with his sister and best friend on reservations, service, etc. Then I joined him. Coqui Coqui was born.
What have you created?
A scented range (colognes, oils, candles, etc.), a collection of “flavors” (local honey, coffee and chocolate that we flavor), and guest houses. Coqui Coqui reflects our personality. We are passionate about travel, architecture, decoration, literature. Nicolas, perfumer, is a fan of botany, I am Italian, a translator by training. We use what nature gives us to create a simple and warm art of living. Copra, wood, sisal fibers … We do with what we find: local crafts or antique pieces for decoration, products grown on site for cooking, flowers, fruits and plants for them. perfumes. We do not import and favor zero mileage. We work with locals in mutual respect. They introduce us to their culture that we transmit and share in our scents and our homes. These are located in Cobá, Merida, Izamal, Valladolid, constitute a trip in Yucatán between beaches, jungle, colonial towns and pyramids. Each is unique and echoes where it is. Our aestheticism has often been called “primitive luxury”. Our Izamal house is nestled in a construction dating from 1600 at the foot of a Mayan pyramid. It tells the story of the place.
What are your projects?
Coqui Coqui Bora Bora will open by summer 2020. It is a guest house in an olfactory garden a stone’s throw from the beach.
AND ALLER
Eluxtravel (01.45.04.21.21; Eluxtravel.com) offers a trip to Yucatán from € 2,730 per person, with flights, transfers, 2 nights in Coqui Coqui Valladolid Meson de Malleville (Old Colonial Suite), 2 nights at Coqui Coqui Izamal (Convent Suite), 3 Nights at Coqui Coqui Merida (Carlota Suite), breakfasts (Coquicoqui.com).
