Lightyears Collection
Bandit
Robert Piguet
(1944)

Click on image to enlarge Bandit

Bandit finds its roots in radical fragrances such as Tabac Blond by Caron (1919). In turn, it helped inspire Grès Cabochard (1958) and later, perhaps, Calvin Klein's Obsession (1985).

Bandit was created for Robert Piguet by perfumer Germaine Cellier working for the Roure-Bertrand-Dupont fragrance house. It is based on the use of isobutyl quinoline.

As one reviewer comments, "It opens with a beguiling accord of jasmine, orris, and spicy carnation, and just a hint of the sharpness of bergamot. As soon as it truly settles on your skin, within a minute, a deep and richly dark leather reveals itself smugly, as if scornful of its more eager companions. The leather grows richer but does not overpower. The jasmine and the orris and the rose and the civet fall in step, visible and vibrant, but it is clear who is master here."

Piguet launched Bandit during a 1944 runway show with models sporting villian masks and brandishing toy revolvers and knives. The image was "outlaw", "bad boy", "wild girl" — right from the beginning.

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