Etat Libre d'Orange
Explore 56 Etat Libre d'Orange fragrances — notes, longevity, sillage and community ratings, matched to how you want to smell. The house dates from 2006, founded by Etienne de Swardt.
About the house
Etienne de Swardt founded Etat Libre d'Orange in 2006. He is originally from South Africa and moved to Paris, and before starting the house he wrote concepts for Givenchy perfumes within LVMH. Sources differ on how long that lasted, giving six years, seven years, or a span from 1994 to 2000.
The name refers to the Orange Free State, the former Boer republic in southern Africa, and the house says it pays homage to a spirit of freedom and independence. A contemporary blog report from August 2006 said the line would launch in France that September with six unisex fragrances. De Swardt says he started the house because perfume concepts and formulas had become standardised and perfumers had little creative freedom.
There is no in-house nose. The house works with independent perfumers, and a 2026 piece lists Antoine Maisondieu, Christine Nagel, Quentin Bisch, Antoine Lie, Mathilde Bijaoui, Violaine Collas, Daniela Andrier and Jordi Fernandez among those behind more than 30 fragrances. Antoine Lie is named by de Swardt as one of his favourite perfumers, and the two made Tom of Finland, a tribute to the Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen. Quentin Bisch composed La Fin du Monde, the newest release at the time of a January 2014 interview.
On ownership, one brand profile lists the operating company as Editions des Sens and says it has no parent group. In 2014 de Swardt said the house had spent five to seven years building its philosophy without answering to a group of investors.
The house gives its motto as "le parfum est mort, vive le parfum!". Its flagship boutique is at 69 Rue des Archives in the Marais, Paris. In a Premium Beauty News interview the house reported more than 1,100 points of sale in nearly 100 countries, with two Paris boutiques and one in Shenzhen.
Signature notes
These notes show up in Etat Libre d'Orange fragrances at least twice as often as in the catalogue as a whole. We worked this out from each fragrance's listed notes. It is not how the house describes itself.
Best known for
You Or Someone Like You, The Ghost In The Shell, Tilda Swinton Like This, Putain des Palaces, Fat Electrician Semi-Modern Vetiver and Hermann à mes Côtés me Paraissait une Ombre — the most-rated in our catalogue.
Releases
From 2006 to 2025, 56 fragrances with a known year.
