Interview with ZIXIU Founder: Turning Traditional Agarwood into Modern Style — Cultural Renewal Keeps Tradition Alive

Yunzi, the founder of ZIXIU, has spent over 12 years in the fashion industry, photographing celebrities and collaborating long-term with magazines such as VOGUE and Marie Claire. Eight years ago, by chance, she discovered agarwood and fell in love with it. In 2023, she partnered with an emerging designer to launch her own brand — ZIXIU — bringing agarwood into the world of contemporary design.
In this conversation with brand strategist Song, she shares her story.

Q: Why did you decide to create an agarwood brand?

Yunzi:
Our company has always had a space for tea and incense, but younger people weren’t very interested. Once we turned agarwood into beautiful jewelry, their curiosity lit up immediately. We wanted to make it stylish — not something that feels old or traditional, like something only our parents would use. We reinterpreted agarwood through the lens of high-fashion photography, expressing the feminine energy of nature — earth, water, fire, and wind — in a modern way. 

Q: Why focus on younger audiences?

Yunzi:
Because I don’t want my brand to belong to a single demographic. I want agarwood to reach unexpected audiences — people who’ve never experienced it before. That’s the mission: to share this unique Eastern heritage with more people.
It already surprises many that someone from the fashion world is creating an agarwood brand — so why not make traditional culture accessible and relevant again? Especially today, when most people are surrounded by synthetic perfumes and chemical scents. What I use is not chemical — it moves and changes with nature itself. It’s truly alive.

 Q: How is agarwood different from perfume?

Yunzi:
I often compare agarwood to an orchid. When you light it, the scent isn’t strong or constant. In a quiet space, the fragrance slowly finds you — a soft moment that drifts by, sometimes only noticeable when you return to the room.
I like to compare scent to music. Perfume — or any strong, synthetic fragrance — is like Western rap: direct, loud, and instantly commanding your rhythm. Agarwood, like traditional Eastern culture, is gentle and introspective. It doesn’t overpower; it awakens something within you. It invites stillness and reflection — like classical Chinese music or our culture’s quiet elegance.
Every blend I create is tested on my own body. It’s not just about origin or material — it’s about energy, resonance, and connection. That’s why the brand is called ZIXIU — it’s about the relationship between human and wood. Agarwood helps you return to calm, to the self. That quietness — that clarity of being — is what I love most about it. No other fragrance can replace it.
Today, so many artificial scents can even harm the body. Chemical saturation has dulled our senses — people no longer know what’s truly good. Real comfort comes from purity — from a body that feels clear and transparent. If something makes you feel good, that’s enough. Your body knows. The cleaner your inner world, the more you can tell what’s real.

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