Fragrance house

Jean Patou

Founded by Jean Patou in Paris in 1914, the eponymous house was interrupted by the First World War before he relaunched it after returning from the front. Its early identity challenged restrictive dress through uncorseted dresses, shorter skirts, an urban sportswear line, and the JP monogram. After Patou’s death in 1936, his sister Madeleine and her husband Raymond Barbas took over the house. Later creative leaders included Marc Bohan, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier, Angelo Tarlazzi, and Christian Lacroix, after whose departure the fashion house ceased activity. The house created Joy in 1930 during a crisis affecting its fashion business, using the fragrance to help relaunch the brand. Joy became Jean Patou’s best-known perfume, a reference fragrance, and a major commercial success, and entered The Fragrance Foundation’s Women’s Fragrance Hall of Fame in 1990. Procter & Gamble marketed the fragrance business from 2001 to 2011, followed by Designer Parfums. In September 2018, LVMH acquired a majority holding from Designer Parfums and relaunched the fashion house under the shorter name Patou, with Guillaume Henry responsible for its artistic direction.