Founded in New York in 2013, Sabah is Mickey Ashmore's simple leather footwear brand, and it's all based on his time in Turkey. While working in Istanbul, he was gifted a pair of traditional leather slippers, which were Turkish by nature but not a part of the modern Turkish wardrobe. He wore them non-stop, earning compliments from both friends in the U.S. and Turkish natives. His obsession led to Sabah, and its first two products, the heeled Sabah and the backless Baba.
But both Turkey and its leather served as more than just inspiration — they were the foundation. As such, even when Sabah would eventually expand beyond slip-ons and slippers — we all knew it'd happen one day — the two would remain central to the release.
Take Sabah Bois, for example — the brand's first-ever fragrance, which launches on November 20th. Developed with acclaimed perfumer Carlos Huber (Vacation Eau de Parfum, Arquiste), Bois a fusion of the chaparral landscape of the American Southwest (where Sabah has its U.S. factory) and the desert landscapes of Eastern Turkey and the Middle East. The scent is austere yet unique, exotic yet wholly familiar, refined yet enduring — all adjectives one might use to describe the brand's shoes.
Featuring base notes of leather, patchouli and smoke, middle layers of nutmeg and desert sage and surface accents of cyprus and balsam fir, Bois embraces Sabah's global nature. And the amber-colored bottle nods to its primary industry: leather shoemaking. Because it's topped a vegetable-tanned leather cap, the bottle will change with time, patinaing each time you reach for it.
