Double Dragon

The story

Double Dragon was born in Italy and reached perfumeries in 2023, with five fragrances launched together. It has no founder to put on the cover: it presents itself as “an arcade brand of RTW fragrances”, “created by a collective of designers from different fields with a common vision”: to create the perfume of the avant-garde. The fields are design, fashion, music and contemporary art, and anonymity is part of the project: instead of the name of whoever conceived it, the contents must speak. In September 2023 the collective took its line to Pitti Fragranze, in Florence, where the press singled it out among the new brands to discover.

The name is already a statement of taste. It is “an homage to the iconic 1980s video game”, one of the first arcade beat 'em ups ever released, and at the same time to an honour: the one that the rulers of the Qing dynasty reserved for the most deserving foreign warriors. Pop culture and history in the same word, as in the logo, where “Double” is written in mirror image. The manifesto fits into one line: “No storytelling, just pure references translated into fragrances.” The tone says the rest: a cool tale, “the way we like it”.

Each perfume starts from a precise reference, taken from fashion, music or literature. Demna looks to the designer who, with Vetements and Balenciaga, changed the fashion of recent years. Raf Man holds two names together, the designer Raf Simons and the artist Jon Rafman. Teen Spirit is a tribute to Nirvana and to the teenage deodorant that gave their most famous song its title. Tubercoleuse is a play on words between tuberose and the illness that marked the 19th century. Concrete to Leather quotes a refrain by IDLES. Instead of the olfactory pyramid the brand hands over an “ingredients list” made of words: for Raf Man, among others, power, horses, bridges, swords, dolphins, snow and snakes.

The object follows the same logic. The brand calls it a “container of dreams”: an identical bottle for all the fragrances, in clear glass, where only the colour of the large DD initials changes. Black for Demna, red for Tubercoleuse, green for Teen Spirit, teal for Raf Man, pink for Concrete to Leather. On the white box there is the name of the perfume, above the collective's watchwords: bottling core, guerrilla perfume. There is only one size, 100 ml, and production is Italian. Since then the line has stayed the same: five unisex perfumes, to be chosen the way you choose a record or a T-shirt, for what they say about the person wearing them.

The fragrances

At OUD Profumeria Artistica you will find all five Double Dragon fragrances, in 100 ml bottles. We list them in the brand's order, from DD 01 to DD 05; next to each name are the olfactory family and the notes that make it recognisable.

• Demna, aromatic and musky: raw iris, an earthy accord and synthetic musks.
• Tubercoleuse, floral and musky: smoke, incense, tuberose and animalic musk.
• Teen Spirit, fruity and aromatic: peach, apricot, strawberry, bamboo and Cashmeran.
• Raf Man, musky and marine: Calone, white flowers, Ambroxan and white musk.
• Concrete to Leather, woody and musky: Ambroxan, Ambrocenide and civet.

OUD Profumeria Artistica is an authorised Double Dragon retailer, online and at the store in Nettuno (Rome).

Frequently asked questions

What kind of brand is Double Dragon?
Double Dragon is an Italian niche perfume brand launched in 2023 by a collective of creatives from design, fashion, music and contemporary art. It describes itself as “an arcade brand of RTW fragrances” and has a single line of five unisex 100 ml fragrances: Demna, Tubercoleuse, Teen Spirit, Raf Man and Concrete to Leather. The name is a tribute to the 1980s arcade video game.

What does Double Dragon Raf Man smell like?
Raf Man is a unisex marine musky scent, launched in 2023. The brand sums it up as an extreme clean, pushed so far that it becomes almost dirty. The reference notes are white flowers, Ambroxan, white musk and Calone, the molecule that brings a sensation of sea air to the skin. The name is a double reference: to the designer Raf Simons and to the artist Jon Rafman.

What are the notes of Double Dragon Tubercoleuse?
The reference notes declared by the brand for Tubercoleuse are tuberose, incense, animalic musk and smoky notes: a musky floral with an animalic, smoky character, far from classic white flowers. The name is a play on words between tuberose and tuberculosis, the illness that marked the 19th century. On Fragrantica it is the brand's perfume that has collected the most votes.

What does Concrete to Leather mean?
It is a line from Never Fight a Man with a Perm, one of the best-known songs by IDLES, the English post-punk band; the brand renders it in Italian as concrete on the skin. Double Dragon chose it as the name for Concrete to Leather, a woody musky scent built on Ambroxan, Ambrocenide and civet, which it defines as “pure molecular with musky hints”: few elements, designed to melt into the wearer's skin.

Is there a perfume inspired by Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit?
Yes: Teen Spirit by Double Dragon. It is a tribute to Nirvana and Kurt Cobain and, at the same time, to the 1990s teenage deodorant from which the song took its title, caramel-sweet and intensely fruity. The perfume captures its spirit: an aromatic fruity scent with peach, apricot, strawberry, a bamboo accord and Cashmeran.

What does Double Dragon Demna smell like?
Demna is a unisex aromatic musky scent, dedicated to the designer who, with Vetements and Balenciaga, changed contemporary fashion. The brand's reference notes are an iris that is “unripe, earthy, almost burned”, rising over a base of synthetic musks; the declared olfactory category is aromatic resin, slightly green. It is a modern iris, far from the powdery one of classic perfumes.

Where to buy Double Dragon perfumes?
OUD Profumeria Artistica is an authorised Double Dragon retailer: you will find all five fragrances online and at our store in Nettuno, in the province of Rome, where you can try them in person. Shipping is free in Italy over €60, and over €100 we add 10 free samples.