Creed (perfume)

Creed (perfume)
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. It has boutiques in Paris, London, New York City, Beverly Hills, Sydney, Dubai, Kuwait City, Vienna, 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. 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. 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.
In February 2020, the private equity group BlackRock announced that it would become the majority shareholder of Creed. In June 2023, Creed was acquired by Kering for €3.5 billion.
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. 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".
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.
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.
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.
List of publicly released fragrances
Creed claims to make fragrances exclusively for their clients that are not available to their customers and that some of those fragrances are later released to the public. This is a list of the Creed fragrances that are (or were) sold to the general public.
Many of the fragrances on this list are not currently sold by Creed or authorized retailers because they were discontinued. Creed often discontinues ("vaults") fragrances. For example, Green Valley used to be a mainstream release but is no longer sold by Creed. Creed also claims to re-release fragrances that were created by the family many years ago in previous generations. Examples of this would include Selection Verte and (Vintage) Tabarome.
2000 Fleurs
Acier Aluminium
Acqua Fiorentina
Amalfi Flowers
Ambre Cannelle
Angélique Encens
Aubepine Acacia
Aventus
Aventus Cologne
Aventus for Her
Baie de Genievre
Bayrhum Vetiver
Bois de Cedrat
Bois de Santal
Bois du Portugal
Carmina
Chevrefeuille
Citrus Bigarrade
Cuir de Russie
Cypres Musc
Epicea
Erolfa
Fantasia de Fleurs
Feuilles Vertes
Fleurs de Gardenia
Fleur de Thé Rose Bulgare
Fleurissimo
Fleurs de Bulgarie
Green Irish Tweed
Green Valley
Herbe Marine
Himalaya
Imperatrice Eugenie
Irisia
Jardin d'Amalfi
Jasmal
Jasmin Imperatrice Eugenie
Les Floralies
Love in Black
Love in White
Millesime 1849
Millésime Impérial
Neroli Sauvage
Olivier Creed Eau de Cologne/Toilette (not fully confirmed)
Orange Spice
Original Santal
Original Vetiver
Private Collection Tabarome
Pure White Cologne
Rosalie
Royal Ceylan
Royal Delight
Royal English Leather
Royal Mayfair
Royal Oud
Royal Princess Oud
Royal Service
Royal Scottish Lavender
Royal Water
Santal Imperial
Scent of Oger
Selection Verte
Silver Mountain Water
Spice and Wood
Spring Flower
Sublime Vanille
Tabarome
Tabarome Millésime
Tubereuse Indiana
Vanisia
Verveine Narcisse
Vetiver
Viking
Viking Cologne
Virgin Island Water
White Flowers
Wind Flowers
Windsor
Ylang Jonquille
Zeste Mandarine
Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse
See also
Charles Creed, fashion designer
References
French brands
Perfume houses
History of cosmetics
1760 establishments in England
2023 mergers and acquisitions
Kering brands