Azzaro

Azzaro is a French fashion and fragrance house based in Paris, founded by the designer Loris Azzaro in 1967 [7]. It began as a couture label known for body-hugging eveningwear and expanded into perfume in the mid-1970s, a move that came to define the brand commercially. Its fragrances are sold internationally, and the perfume business has been owned by L'Oréal since 2020 [3].

Sources differ on the founding date. SÆTHER and L'Oréal Luxe, the brand's current parent, date the establishment of Azzaro to 1967, the year Loris Azzaro opened his boutique at 65 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré [7]. WWD records 1968 as the year he formally founded his couture house [6]. The brand itself marked its 50th anniversary in 2017, consistent with a 1967 origin.

Loris Azzaro was born in Tunis in 1933 to Italian parents and taught French and Italian before moving to Paris in 1962. He opened his first workshop in 1965, designing bags, belts and embroidered tops, and presented his first couture collection from the Faubourg Saint-Honoré boutique in 1967 [3]. The address remains the brand's fashion headquarters.

His reputation grew quickly on sculptural, body-hugging dresses that drew a celebrity clientele. An early breakthrough came in 1968, when a gown worn by Marisa Berenson appeared on the cover of Elle. Through the 1970s and 1980s the label dressed figures including Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Sophia Loren and Tina Turner.

Azzaro entered perfumery in 1975 with Azzaro Couture, its first fragrance [4]. The founder framed the step simply, saying that "a personality is not quite complete without a perfume." The 1978 release Azzaro Pour Homme became the brand's defining men's scent; WWD described it as the third best-selling selective men's fragrance in France, and at its peak the house held an estimated worldwide market share of up to 10 percent in men's fragrance [6].

Azzaro Chrome, launched in 1996 and composed by perfumer Gerard Haury, is the best-selling Azzaro masculine fragrance of all time [8]. Later pillars include the Wanted line, introduced in 2016, and Azzaro The Most Wanted. In 2025 the company launched Forever Wanted Elixir, which L'Oréal describes as "the apex of Azzaro Wanted's fragrance expertise."

The brand draws on Loris Azzaro's Mediterranean upbringing, summed up in the idea that life is "an eternal summer." Its current owner positions Azzaro around hedonism, sensuality and generosity, using a sun emblem and the motto "TIME TO SHINE" [7]. L'Oréal places it as a luxury fragrance brand within its Luxe division, aimed at "hedonists of all ages." On ingredient sourcing, the Perfume Society reports that the house emphasises high-quality natural materials obtained responsibly, with fair compensation for suppliers.

Ownership of Azzaro has split between its fashion and fragrance arms over time. Parfums Azzaro was acquired by Clarins in 1995 [6]. The fashion house passed to Compagnie Frey in 2002 and then to Reig Capital Group in 2006. In 2020, Clarins handed the Azzaro and Mugler fragrance licenses to L'Oréal as it refocused on its core beauty business, placing the perfume brand within L'Oréal Luxe [3]. Within that portfolio its sister brands include Lancôme, Kiehl's, Helena Rubinstein and Creed.

The founder died in 2003. A succession of creative directors has led the fashion side since, with Olivier Theyskens appointed in 2020.

Beyond Elle's 1968 cover, the house has remained a recurring fashion and beauty press subject. In 2025 it named the Colombian musician Sebastián Yatra as its global fragrance ambassador for the Wanted campaign [9].

Azzaro is active. It is managed by L'Oréal Luxe, with recent fragrance launches including Chrome Eau de Parfum (2022), Chrome Parfum (2023) and Forever Wanted Elixir (2025), and an active ambassador campaign as of 2025 [9].