fcuk Product Reviews

French Connection UK, also known as fcuk, was founded by Stephen Marks in London in England in 1972. fcuk has specialized in the fashion retail sector, selling clothes, shoes, accessories and a small selection of beauty products for women and men. fcuk offer fashion clothing in the upper mid price sector in order to distinguish the brand from cheaper competitors but to still be affordable. The brand is globally successful.

fcuk, then called French Connection UK, discovered the (in)famous acronym (fcuk) in 1997 and has since then used the controversy around it to rebrand their clothes and stores and to create publicity which in return boosted sales. The manufacture of shirts with controversial slogans that centered around the acronym 'fcuk' printed on them have been bestsellers for years. Still, some puns have been deemed inappropriate and have been pulled by the label.

The acronym fcuk has created many a stir around the world. It began with a judge expelling a juror from court for wearing a t-shirt with fcuk print on it. The most prominent case was the Mayor of Boston who was campaigning against the brand with the help of The American Family Association who called for a boycott of fcuk's shops and merchandise.

Apart from all the controversy, fcuk is a successful brand with hundreds of outlets all over the world and department store concessions all over the UK. In addition to that they sell licensed products, e.g. sunglasses, toiletries, fragrances, watches, shoes, etc. through different sales channels, such as pharmacies and opticians.

In 2004 fcuk took the chance to start their own fragrance and toiletry collection. The frist two fragrances, fcuk her and fcuk him, created more controversy but it helped sell those fragrant creations successfully. fcuk her is a composition made of floral and oriental notes like gardenia, orris, sandalwood, violet, jasmine, cedar, lily of the valley and rose. The edition for men was composed of basil, sage, vanilla, lavender, patchouli, green pepper, tea and rosemary. 2007 saw the launch of another fragrant duo: fcuk Connect her and fcuk Connect Him. The edition for ladies features notes of lotus, bergamot, lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, violet, peony, musk, sandalwood, virginia cedar and amber. The men's version is dominated by prominent accords of rosemary, sangria, lavender, basil, sage, green peppercorn, tea leaves, black suede, patchouli, vanilla and ebony wood.

Several other commercially successful fragrances for women and men have been presented since.