Robert Piguet — Bandit Suprême
Essence
Bandit Supreme is Aurelien Guichard’s 2020 reimagining of Germaine Cellier’s 1944 leather chypre Bandit. It is not a replacement for the original. It strips the floral heart down and pushes galbanum, neroli, jasmine, orange blossom, amber, oakmoss, leather, patchouli, and musk into a bitter green leather-chypre.
Scent Profile
The opening is intensely bitter green, with smoky galbanum and a small neroli glint. It feels mossy, dark, and primal rather than sparkling. The heart turns more animalic as jasmine and orange blossom add indolic shadow without reading as a full floral bouquet. The base is worn leather, oakmoss, patchouli, musk, and amber, becoming softer and rounder after the fierce opening. The composition is fairly linear: mossy green leather from start to finish.
Performance
Longevity is excellent, with many wearers reporting next-day persistence. Sillage is more debated: the first hour can be bold, then it often sits between intimate and moderate while remaining very present on skin and fabric.
Wearing Context
Best in cool weather, formal wear, evening, and serious outdoor moods. It reads more masculine-of-unisex than Bandit and avoids sweetness. It is ideal for leather-chypre devotees, not for anyone seeking softness, fruit, or easy compliments.
Comparisons & DNA
Bandit is the essential reference. The original has brighter aldehydic lift and a more floral leather heart; Bandit Supreme is mossier, rougher, more masculine, and more linear. Cabochard, Kouros, Cuir de Russie, Knize Ten, and Magie Noire help triangulate the leather-chypre tradition, but Supreme is primarily a Piguet self-dialogue.
Reception
Leather and chypre fans often admire its bitterness, moss, and strictness. Skeptics miss the original Bandit’s complexity and floral bite, or find Supreme lean and linear. Value sentiment depends on availability: worth sampling for chypre devotees, but confirm the bottle because Bandit and Bandit Supreme can be confused.
Versions & Reformulation
Bandit Supreme is a standalone 2020 variant, not a reformulation. It launched with some availability confusion and initially appeared through Harrods before reaching broader luxury retail. The original Bandit continued alongside it.
Acquisition Notes
Bandit Supreme is a 100 ml EDP. Buy from authorized stockists when available, and verify the exact name because the black bottles can be mistaken for Bandit. Decants are a sensible first step for such a severe green leather.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The original Bandit debuted with masked runway models and toy weapons.
- Bandit was one of Germaine Cellier’s defining leather-chypre statements.
- Guichard’s Supreme honors the Bandit idea while making a new scent.
- The original Bandit remained in production alongside Supreme.
- Oakmoss in the note list prompted discussion because moss is central to the Bandit mythos.