Ecko by Marc Ecko

There is certainly a place for a white t-shirt fragrance in every man’s wardrobe. The kind of fragrance that doesn’t try to set new standards or re-interpret old ones. A fragrance that is classic and comfortable a “what you see is what you get” kind of scent. Marc Ecko began the creation of his brand by making graffiti covered t-shirts back in the early 90’s. From that humble beginning he has created a hip lifestyle brand that has become more popular as time has gone by.

As Ed Hardy by Christian Audiger proved in 2008 there is a market for a hip clothier to find success at the fragrance counter, too. For Marc Ecko’s first foray into fragrance, in 2009, he turned to Parlux Fragrances and two of their perfumers Vincent Kuczinski and Lois Evans. They created a lively fougere that comes off feeling like a comfortable everyday fragrance.

Marc Ecko describes his vision for Ecko:

“It was always my aspiration to get a scent that was highly wearable. I wanted it to be like a stimulant — almost caffeinated. I wanted it to be clean and bright, but something that wasn’t so clean and soapy that it wasn’t sexy. And it was important to me that it have a semi-unisex vibe.”

I don’t think it succeeds on all of the levels Mr. Ecko envisioned but it certainly succeeds on enough of them to be worth trying. The top of Ecko really captures the desired “clean and bright” vibe as a mix of ginger and grapefruit start this scent off with a razor sharp coolness. This is easily my favorite part of Ecko as the ginger used has an edgy quality to it that I really enjoyed.

The heart is a mix of violet, anise, and the barest hint of absinthe. This is where I get a fleeting glimpse of what this scent could have been if these three notes persisted a little longer. The anise and violet are complementary and the hint of absinthe adds a little edge to it. I, personally, would have liked just a dash more edge and for the heart to last a little longer. The base is also a faint incense and white musk mixture. It remains light and unobtrusive and, again, I found myself wanting just a bit more of the incense in particular.

One tiny quibble I have is I really wish they had somehow incorporated more of the outsider artist aesthetic that embodies Marc Ecko into the fragrance but that doesn’t seem to have been the focus of this first fragrance by Mr. Ecko. Instead, I believe Ecko has achieved its stated goals and that makes this a good everyday scent at a good price. Ecko has average longevity and average sillage. Ecko will not be the scent I reach for when I’m looking to impress, but on a lazy day when I’m just looking to smell good I’ll have no trouble reaching for the snazzy prism shaped bottle and spraying on my “white t-shirt” fragrance.