Fragrance house

Hermès

Hermès began in Paris in 1837, when harness-maker Thierry Hermès opened a workshop on rue Basse-du-Rempart. In 1880, his son Charles-Émile moved the workshops to 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré and opened a store there, an address that became central to the house’s identity. Under Émile Hermès, the business developed from saddlery and harnesses into leather goods and other métiers, introducing men’s ready-to-wear in 1925, jewellery in 1927, watches and sandals in 1928, and its first silk scarf in 1937. Its enduring identity combines painstaking workshop craftsmanship with attention to changing lifestyles, carried by freedom and creativity. From 1978, Jean-Louis Dumas diversified the house into new métiers and expanded its international profile, including through watchmaking and the integration of John Lobb, Puiforcat and Saint-Louis. Hermès remains an independent, family-owned French house; a 2014 settlement distributed shares held by LVMH, Financière Jean Goujon and Christian Dior, removing those companies from its shareholder base. Its perfume history began with Eau d’Hermès in 1951 and Calèche in 1961. Terre d’Hermès, launched in 2006, is especially associated with the brand’s fragrance identity, and Christine Nagel’s work included a new interpretation of Terre d’Hermès Eau Intense Vétiver.