Fierce

Abercrombie & Fitch launched Fierce in 2002, just as the clothing brand was becoming one of the most coveted labels among American youth. It was the brand’s first fragrance, designed for men; the agency Boom led its development, and Interparfums produces it today.

At IFF, Carlos Benaïm handed two young perfumers, Christophe Laudamiel and Bruno Jovanovic, a masculine accord he had been working on for more than two years. Laudamiel pared it down, removed the amber, powdery and floral notes, and submitted to the brand a series of trials he called “Indecent.”

The brand chose sample G, which was only the working base and had been sent by mistake. Laudamiel added a touch of sea spray for the final version. Fierce was sprayed on the clothes and into the air of the stores, so much so that the team rebalanced a formula reserved for diffusion.

The fragrance quickly ranked among the best-selling men’s scents in the United States. The brand stopped diffusing it in its stores in 2017 and relaunched it in January 2019 in a redesigned bottle, with the formula unchanged. Fierce Night, Fierce Confidence, Fierce Reserve and Fierce Blue extend the line.