Hugo Man perfume by Hugo Boss Men have always appreciated particularly fresh fragrances. Indeed, for a very long time, they only wore Colognes. This need for freshness and vitality thus seems to be rooted in their genes. The house Hugo Boss understood this well, and this is how it created a clear and energizing fragrance named Hugo Man.
The suit label Hugo Boss, founded in 1923, sought to diversify its clientele in the 90s by launching ranges for trendy yet elegant young men. While it had previously entered perfumery in a relatively quiet way, the house Hugo Boss would offer a young and sparkling fragrance in line with its new target customers: Hugo Man. Composed by David Arpel, Hugo Man would be Hugo Boss's first real success, as well as its perfumer's.
Hugo Man, the fragrance of a free and energetic youth by David Apel
The 90s marked a turning point in how the world was perceived and understood. For haute-couture labels, as globalization was becoming significant, it was necessary to face competition by constantly offering novelties. For Hugo Boss, this meant expanding its clothing range in order to reach a new audience, younger and more casual, so the brand would not lose momentum.
The same would apply to Hugo Boss fragrances which, after lukewarm debuts with Boss N°1 in 1984 or Boss Elements in 1994, were still searching for their flagship to boost sales. And it was precisely David Arpel's composition for Hugo Man that would play this bestseller role to perfection.
Hugo Man would be far removed from Hugo Boss's sharply tailored, immaculate suits; on the contrary, it would be more invigorating and casual than ever. Since the goal of Hugo Man was to show that Hugo Boss also knew how to speak to young people, it would drive the development, with its innovative accords, of the entire new Hugo Boss jeans and t-shirt range.
The spirit of Hugo Man is well summed up in its slogan: Don't imitate, innovate!
The first fruity fragrance in the history of men's perfumery: Hugo Man by Hugo Boss
Hugo Man was designed to be the spearhead of a perfumery that, until then, had struggled to find its place on the shelves. CK One had beaten it to it just a year earlier, but the handsome Hugo Man had not said its last word! Where its main competitor aimed to be unisex and cool, Hugo Man would be dynamic, cool and sophisticated, with a touch of fruit and flowers—a bold move for a men's fragrance.
Hugo Man was thus designed by David Arpel as an energizing cocktail that propels us, from the very first spray, into an absolutely divine aromatic and citrus breeze. At the heart, lavender and pine diffuse their invigorating scents, while clove takes on a warm, spicy velvety character. The touch of apple brings to this warm-cold heart a novel touch of sweet, fruity freshness. Finally, cedar becomes once again crisp and fresh, better to confront the woody, sensual warmth of patchouli and labdanum.
Hugo was one of the first men's fragrances to make use of fruity notes, thus bringing a new freshness, cleaner, more sparkling, to men's perfumery, attributed to Au Parfum regarding Hugo Man by Hugo Boss.