Eight & Bob

Eight & Bob

BRAND HISTORY Albert Fouquet, son of a Parisian aristocrat, belonging to the most exclusive circle of French high society at the beginning of the 20th century, was an expert connoisseur of perfumes. In a room on the upper floors of the family castle, assisted by his faithful butler Philippe, he created and perfected essences for personal use. One evening, during the summer holidays of 1937 on the French Riviera, he hit it off with a young North American student who was driving around France in a convertible: John FK. A few minutes after they were introduced, a presumptuous JFK had already fallen in love with the essence used by Albert. The charm that John exuded convinced Albert to leave him, the following morning at the hotel, a sample of his anonymous eau de Cologne with a note: “In this bottle you will find the dose of French glamour that your American charm is missing”. Upon his return from vacation, Albert received a letter from John in the United States thanking him and telling him of the success his perfume had had among his friends. He also asked him to send him 8 samples, “…and, if your production allows, another one for Bob”. Albert fulfilled the order by labeling the bottles and boxes with John’s friendly request: “EIGHT & BOB”.
A few months later, he began to receive letters from the US with requests sent by various Hollywood directors, producers and actors. They all wanted the “EIGHT & BOB” cologne that, apparently, they had discovered through John's father, who had relationships with well-known stars, given his recent entrepreneurial past in the film industry.
Unfortunately, the success of his fragrance could not extend much further. In the spring of 1939, Albert died in a car accident. Philippe, the only one who could respond to the requests received, continued this activity for only a few months then, with the outbreak of World War II, he had to abandon his work for the Fouquet family. In the last shipments that were made, Philippe hid the bottles inside books that he carefully cut out by hand, to prevent the Nazis from intercepting the perfumes. Decades later, thanks to the butler's family, the formula of "EIGHT & BOB" was fully recovered, returning to being one of the most exclusive colognes and preferred by the most elegant men in the world.