Nick began his career in editorial as a reporter at Women's Wear Daily and senior fashion news editor at Elle. In 2012, he co-founded Into The Gloss, an online platform that treated beauty as a subject deserving of real editorial attention. He went on to launch Nécessaire as co-founder and chief creative officer and, later, Homecourt with Courteney Cox. In 2023, he established Contrapposto with his husband, Casey, drawing fine fragrance, clinical skincare, and aesthetic medicine into a single house.

Casey Axelrod-Welk, AGNP, leads Contrapposto's clinical practice. Trained in cardiology and internal medicine at institutions including Weill Cornell and Mount Sinai, he came to aesthetics from acute care and brought its discipline with him: treatment guided by anatomy, measured in years rather than appointments, and grounded in the conviction that aesthetics is medicine and should be practiced accordingly. At the clinic he pairs neuromodulators, fillers, lasers, and healthy-aging therapies with deliberate restraint, shaping each plan around the patient in front of him.

Born in Bonn, Germany and raised across Europe, Voelkl developed an early love of scent that led him to ISIPCA and a career in perfumery, which he launched with a tiare flower fragrance dedicated to his Tahitian wife. Today, he works as a Master Perfumer at Firmenich, splitting his life between New York and French Polynesia, whose lush nature remains his greatest inspiration. A gentle poet with quiet charisma, Voelkl’s greatest hits include creations for Le Labo, Glossier, and Oscar de la Renta. He aims to “create fragrances that connect with your soul” and evoke pure, unadulterated happiness.

Natalie Gracia-Cetto creates perfumes “that bring a smile”—singular, attractive compositions shaped by a boundless curiosity and an olfactory memory rooted in her early childhood in Egypt. After receiving her doctorate in pharmacology, Gracia-Cetto changed course, enrolling at Givaudan’s storied Perfumery School in France. She then joined Givaudan’s Paris office, where she currently holds the title of senior perfumer. Over the course of her twenty-plus year career, she has crafted signature fragrances for brands including Van Cleef & Arpels, Jean Paul Gaultier, Chloé, and Versace, among many others.

Shyamala Maisondieu is a master perfumer at Givaudan in Paris. Born in Malaysia to Malay and Indian parents, Maisondieu’s multicultural upbringing shaped her singular creative vision, which blends influences from the worlds of fine art, music, dance, and food. She studied chemical engineering in London before discovering her passion for fragrance while living in Hong Kong. After training at the prestigious Givaudan Perfumery School, she joined Givaudan as a perfumer in 2016. Known for her sophisticated palette and daring ingredient combinations, Maisondieu is behind some of the most iconic releases of Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, and Prada.

Brian Roettinger is a designer and creative director whose practice encompasses graphic design, art direction, identity, packaging, publishing, and culture. His work balances conceptual thinking with a direct, considered visual language. Roettinger works beyond individual objects to envision complete visual systems shaping how a brand looks, feels, communicates, and exists in the world. His approach brings together typography, industrial design, image-making, and physical experiences to build worlds that are coherent and culturally relevant.