Creed (perfume house) explained

Creed Fragrances
Industry:Perfume Industry
Founded:London, England, United Kingdom as a tailoring house
(disputed)
Founder:James Henry Creed
Hq Location City:Paris
Hq Location Country:France
Key People:Oliver Creed, Erwin Creed
Parent:Kering

Creed Fragrances is an Anglo-French multi-national niche perfume house, based in Paris.

The company was originally founded as a tailoring house in London, England in 1760 by James Henry Creed.[1] It has boutiques in Paris, London, New York City, Beverly Hills, Sydney, Dubai, Kuwait City, Vienna, Manila, Cebu City, Mexico City, Milan, Miami, and Dallas in addition to stands in high end retailers across the world. The current generation of creative directors consists of Olivier Creed and his son Erwin Creed.

Early history

James Henry Creed supposedly founded the House of Creed in London in 1760 as a tailoring establishment, however, the earliest evidence of Creed's existence hark from the late 1960s or early 1970s.[2] It claims to have risen to fame in the mid 19th century under Henry Creed as tailors and habit makers for the fashionable dandy Count d'Orsay, Queen Victoria, and Empress Eugénie, who issued the firm of Creed & Cumberland a Royal Warrant for tailoring articles.[3] Olivier Creed's first eponymously named fragrance was a traditional eau de cologne with matching aftershave. Its release date is unknown, although bottles are still in circulation. Creed also has other high-profile creations in its catalog such as Angelique Encens, which was said to have been originally created in 1933 for the Bishop of Paris.[4]

In February 2020, the private equity group BlackRock announced that it would become the majority shareholder of Creed.[5] In June 2023, Creed was acquired by Kering for €3.5 billion.[6]

Popular culture

Creed has stated that it has created perfumes exclusively for celebrities and well-known political figures. Creed claims that Tabarome "was commissioned by a legendary British statesman who loved fine brandy and highest quality cigars" but this is without historical confirmation.[7] Also, Creed's Vetiver is marketed to have been created for "one of America's leading families, a political dynasty now known worldwide for its energy, vigor, and impeccable style".[8]

Mainstream success

Creed's mainstream breakthrough success came in the mid-1980s with the fresh fougère fragrance Green Irish Tweed (1985). The first trademark for Creed perfume was registered in 1979 in France.[9]

Creed's marketing masterpiece, the fragrance Aventus (2010) has seen good commercial success. Erwin Creed stated that the popularity of Aventus enabled Creed to open its New York boutique location.[10]

Authorship

Gabe Oppenheim's book, The Ghost Perfumer, interviews numerous perfumers and disputes Creed's claim that all of the fragrances are made in-house by members of the Creed family. Pierre Bourdon claims to be the perfumer behind Green Irish Tweed (an early iteration of Davidoff's Cool Water, also made by Bourdon), Original Santal, Silver Mountain Water, Erolfa, Millesime Imperial among others.[11]

Publicly released fragrances

Creed claims to make fragrances exclusively for their clients and that some of those fragrances are later released to the public. These are some of the Creed fragrances sold to the general public.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Us. 2023-10-18.
  2. Web site: state of the [car]nation]. dukeofpallmall. perfumedpolitics.blogspot.com. 21 November 2015. 2009-06-22.
  3. Charles Creed, Maid to Measure (London, 1961)
  4. Web site: An interview with Erwin Creed. KA Magazine. 14 October 2009.
  5. Web site: 2020-02-26. BlackRock Long Term Private Capital to Invest in Luxury Fragrance Company Creed in Partnership With Industry Leading Executive Javier Ferrán. 2021-01-07. www.businesswire.com. en.
  6. Web site: Massoudi . Arash . Klasa . Adrienne . Abboud . Leila . 10 July 2023 . Kering paid €3.5bn for fragrance company Creed . Financial Times.
  7. Web site: Buy CREED Tabarome Millesime on CREED Boutique. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025223523/http://www.creedboutique.com/creed-perfume-for-men/30-creed-tabarome-millesime.html. dead. 25 October 2009. Creed Boutique. 21 November 2015.
  8. Web site: Vétiver by Creed (1948) — Basenotes.net. 2021-06-02. www.basenotes.net.
  9. http://bases-marques.inpi.fr/ INPI – Service de recherche marques
  10. Erwin Creed talks to Basenotes about regulations, Aventus and more. 28 March 2013. YouTube. 21 November 2015.
  11. Book: The Ghost Perfumer: Part I: Creed, Lies, & the Scent of the Century - Gabe Oppenheim - Google Books . 2021-12-23 . 9780578964775 . 2022-09-14. Oppenheim . Gabe .
  12. Web site: Creed Perfumes And Colognes. www.fragrantica.com. 21 November 2015.
  13. Web site: Basenotes – Temporary Huddler Archive. https://archive.today/20131027100521/http://www.basenotes.net/t/370362/creed-herbe-marine. dead. 27 October 2013. basenotes.net. 21 November 2015.
  14. Web site: Oliver Creed Eau De Cologne For Men, Vintage Rare. https://archive.today/20131027100604/http://www.basenotes.net/t/194962/oliver-creed-eau-de-cologne-for-men-vintage-rare. dead. 27 October 2013. basenotes.net. 21 November 2015.
  15. Web site: Oliver Creed EDT, vintage, extremely rare. basenotes.net. 21 November 2015. 8 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210308011506/https://www.basenotes.net/threads/195346-Oliver-Creed-EDT-vintage-extremely-rare. dead.
  16. Web site: Viking. creedfragrances.co.uk.
  17. Web site: Creed Y'lang Jonquilles (Private Collection) for Marie Osmond!?. https://archive.today/20131027100532/http://www.basenotes.net/t/284365/creed-ylang-jonquilles-private-collection-for-marie-osmond. dead. 27 October 2013. basenotes.net. 21 November 2015.
  18. Web site: Vintage Creed Ylang Jonquille 8 4 oz 250 ml Green Flacon Very RARE Almost Full – eBay. eBay. 21 November 2015.