No other plant exudes quite the same feel of freshness and bright greenery than the fern. The genus is so expansive and diverse that almost every shade of green is found within it, as well as every texture and size. From the smallest and daintiest button fern to the grandest tree fern, the fern world is vast and varied. Yet across the board, each fern carries a certain old-world elegance and refinement that belies its hardier qualities.
Such a happy correlation comes with Tom Ford’s newest Private Blend pair: Fougere D’Ardent and Fougere Platine. The ‘fougere’ part is from the French word for fern, which is fitting for these verdant fragrances, which also have notes recalling traditional old-world barber-shops and the like. To my admittedly-failing memory, Ford has never done a classic gentlemen fragrance. I suppose an argument could be made that his first self-titled mainstream cologne could be counted as such, and I’ve long maintained that the original does veer into traditional Old Spice territory, and another mainstream offering, ‘Grey Vetiver’, was true to its timeless namesake. Most of his Private Blends, however, have been (more or less delightfully) all over the map. ‘Azure Lime’ was one that came closest to a typical gentleman’s cologne, with its fresh citrus take that veered into the masculine side of his Neroli Portofino line.
His recent Vert series touched on a green forest; my favorite of the lot, Vert D’Encens, is a veritable walk through a pine grove on a warm autumn day. Heavenly. Fougere D’Ardent brings that ferny woodiness and couples it with a barber shop finesse, merging into a refined delight perfect for seasonal transitions.
It’s something one’s grandfather might wear if he were especially jaunty and far ahead of his time. A classic with a bold flare, which is, when you consider most classics, what intrinsically makes something a classic. Containing components of some of the earliest gentlemen colognes, still used today as proof of their everlasting timelessness, this fougere fragrance is a clarion of elegance and sophistication.
Here’s the official description:
Fouere d’Argent is a bold reimagining of the classic fougere, a structure that traditionally revolves around lavender, oakmoss, and coumarin. With oakmoss no longer available, Tom Ford has re-worked the model in a provocative manner, substituting moss with Akigalawood, a Givaudan captive derived from patchouli that has a wonderfully spicy, woodsy bitterness. What emerges from Ford’s confident handling is a scent that smells truly masculine – earthy, herbaceous, and rich, with a radiantly spiced muskiness that billows around its wearer.
