Fragrance house

Jean Desprez

Jean Desprez was a French perfumer and great-grandson of Félix Millot, founder of the F. Millot perfume house. After becoming Millot’s perfumer in the 1920s, he established his own eponymous house in Paris by 1939 at 17 rue de la Paix, presenting it as a high-luxury perfumery. The brand’s identity was closely tied to Desprez’s work and to elaborate artistic presentation, including bottles and packaging made with artists and luxury glass or porcelain makers. Its best-known fragrance, Bal à Versailles, was launched in 1962 and composed by Desprez for his own house; it became the brand’s defining fragrance and was associated with Michael Jackson during the 1980s and 1990s. After Desprez died in 1973, the company continued commercializing fragrances, including creations by his daughter Marie-Céline Desprez. In July 1994, Inter Parfums acquired Parfums Jean Desprez and its subsidiary; in March 1996, those subsidiaries sold Parlux Fragrances the trademarks and related rights and assets connected with Bal à Versailles, Révolution à Versailles, and other lines.