Fragrance house

Fragonard

Founded in Grasse in 1926 by Eugène Fuchs, Fragonard took its name from the Grasse-born painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, honoring both the artist and the city. Its beginnings were those of a small artisan perfumery, distilling local flowers and plants into perfume concentrates, essential oils, and floral absolutes. The house’s history spans four generations of perfumers and collectors rooted in Grasse and Provence. In the 1990s, leadership passed to Jean-François Costa’s daughters, Anne, Agnès, and Françoise, who shared responsibility and capital while broadening Fragonard into an art-de-vivre house encompassing fragrance, decoration, and fashion. Collecting also shaped its public identity: Jean-François Costa’s perfume-related objects led to the first Musée du Parfum in Grasse in 1975, followed by a Paris museum in 1984 and later museums. The 1997 Musée Provençal du Costume et du Bijou was created to house Hélène Costa’s collection. Belle de Nuit, created in 1946, has remained one of the house’s bestsellers for more than 80 years. In 2025, an Arles museum project presented collections assembled by Hélène Costa and Magali Pascal in a contemporary setting designed with Studio KO.