Etro
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Artemisia's soapy bitterness crashes against bright bergamot and caraway's seed-like spice, with lavender providing a peppery counterpoint. The leather emerges immediately—dry and slightly rough, like suede catching on wool—rather than waiting its turn, establishing dominance from the first spray.
Clove's warm spice dissolves into the leather, creating an almost medicinal warmth whilst rose and jasmine provide delicate counterbalance. Ylang ylang adds creamy, narcotic sweetness that prevents the composition from becoming austere, though the leather never truly retreats, simply softening its edges.
Cedarwood and vetiver surface as the volatiles fade, accompanied by subtle birch and sandalwood that lend a slightly dusty, almost desiccated quality. The fragrance becomes increasingly ethereal—a skin scent projection within ninety minutes—fading to barely-perceptible traces of leather and woodsmoke by the fourth hour.
Gomma Etro is a fragrance caught between eras—a leather-forward aromatic that refuses the sweetness expected of its 1989 vintage. Edouard Fléchier has crafted something deliberately austere: the leather accord dominates with a dry, almost dusty character, as though someone's left a well-worn saddle in a spice market. The opening delivers artemisia's bitter-green bite alongside tarragon's anise whisper, grounded immediately by bergamot's sharp citrus and caraway's earthy spice. This isn't the soft leather of designer fragrances; it's the leather of intention.
What makes Gomma Etro genuinely compelling is how those spices—clove prominent among them—dance with the leather rather than against it. The heart's rose and jasmine arrive as moderating influences, preventing the composition from becoming purely architectural, whilst ylang ylang adds a creamy, almost soapy texture that softens the edges. Yet the leather remains sovereign throughout, refusing to be masked.
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4.5/5 (87)