GUY LAROCHE

Guy Laroche was a French fashion designer and founder of the company that bears his name. Born in 1921, Guy Laroche began his career as a hat-maker, but moved to fashion when he became the assistant to couturier Jean Desses. Laroche traveled to the United States in 1955 to study new manufacturing methods for ready-to-wear clothing, and returned to Paris in 1957 to begin his own label.

The company's first foray into perfumes began with legendary Fidji for women, in 1966. The first men's fragrance from Guy LaRoche was 1972's Drakkar, which was later eclipsed by its more successful flanker, Drakkar Noir, in 1982.