French niche line established by Etienne de Swardt, who had worked for Givenchy for a number of years before launching the pet fragrances Oh My Dog! (2000) and Oh My Cat! (2001) under the brand name Dog Generation. Etat Libre d’Orange debuted in 2006 with its own manifesto:
Perfume is dead, long live perfume! We emotionally declare the birth of a newly liberated territory: the free state of orange. A land of olfactory liberality, free from every taboo, where insubordination and olfactory eroticism reign supreme. An independent state in the normed world of modern perfumery where the most talented noses, subjected to the demands of brands, must conform their desires to comply to what the majority expects.
To obtain a truly original product the author must give free rein to imagination: this is the rule Etat Libre d’Orange and its associated noses are committed to…
The initial offerings included six unisex fragrances: Vraie Blonde, Secretions Magnifiques, Jasmin et Cigarette, Encens & Bubblegum, Je Sui Un Homme and Putain des Palaces.
Five more fragrances, Eloge du Traitre, Antiheros, Rien, Divin’Infant and Nombril Immense, followed shortly after.
Recent fragrances from Etat Libre d’Orange
Recent releases include Vierges & Toreros and Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby (2007), Delicious Closet Queen & Charogne (2007), Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection & Noël au Balcon (2007), Tom of Finland (2008), Bendelirious (2008), Fat Electrician (2009), Sex Pistols (2010), Josephine Baker (2010), Tilda Swinton Like This (2010), Archives 69 (2011), Fils de Dieu & Bijou Romantique (2012).
Where to buy
In the US, the line can be found at Henri Bendel in New York or at Luckyscent. Elsewhere, try Holt Renfrew in Canada; First in Fragrance in Germany; Nkd Man, Les Senteurs or Harvey Nichols in the UK.
Website
Further reading
See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Etat Libre d’Orange.
Read Subversive Genius – An interview with Etienne de Swardt of Etat Libre D’Orange at Basenotes.
