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Guy Laroche

Drakkar Noir

1982FougèreEDTFrance

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Editorial notes

  1. 01

    A cool aromatic fougère that helped popularise the heavy use of dihydromyrcenol, the cool-metallic synthetic that defined the masculine sound of the 1980s.

  2. 02

    Reimagined from Laroche's clear 1972 Drakkar into a sharper, fresher formula for the black-bottle 1982 reissue. The 'Noir' suffix marked the new direction.

  3. 03

    The name derives from 'drekar', the Norse word for a Viking longship. Stephanie Seymour starred in Herb Ritts-shot campaigns from 1991 to 1993.

  4. 04

    Composed by Pierre Wargnye in 1982 around bergamot and lavender over a coriander-juniper heart with a heavy oakmoss-cedar base.

Dossier

Edition · 000

Status · Active. Reformulated.

A cool aromatic fougère with dihydromyrcenol.◐ Reformulated since launch

Composed by
Pierre Wargnye
Founder
Guy Laroche
Country
France

The pyramid

Top
bergamotlemonlavenderrosemarybasil
Heart
corianderjunipercardamomcarnationjasmine
Base
oakmosspatchoulivetivercedarleatherfir

The brief

Reimagined as a fresher, sharper fougère to compete with the rising 1980s masculines.

Name'Drakkar' derives from 'drekar', the Norse word for a Viking longship, evoking masculine power; the suffix 'Noir' was added for the 1982 black-bottle reissue.

Why it mattered

  • Helped popularise the heavy use of dihydromyrcenol, defining the cool-metallic fougère sound of 1980s masculines

The flacon

Matte-black rectangular flacon, a deliberate inversion of the original clear 1972 Drakkar bottle.

Reformulated

Post-2000 batches lean less on oakmoss; collectors generally rank pre-1995 versions as the strongest expression of the original cool-aromatic signature.

Cause · successive IFRA limits on oakmoss and reformulation around the dihydromyrcenol accord

Worn by

  • Stephanie Seymour

    Starred in Herb Ritts-shot Drakkar Noir print campaigns from 1991-1993.

Footnotes

  • Drakkar Noir won the FiFi Award for Most Successful Men's Fragrance (Limited Distribution) in 1985 and by 1991 was a global bestselling prestige masculine.

The Curator's Note

The smell of every Reagan-era office, distilled and put on a counter.

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