Fragrance house

Parfums Gres

Parfums Grès is the perfume house associated with the Grès fashion house, founded in Paris in 1942 by Madame Grès, and is based in Switzerland. Born Germaine Émilie Krebs, Madame Grès worked under the label Alix from 1934 to 1942 before adopting Grès, a name she used through 1988. Her method of draping and manipulating fabric directly on the figure gave the house a sculptural fashion identity that informs its couture heritage. The fragrance history began with Cabochard, which debuted in 1959 as a chypre and has held cult status since then; perfumer Bernard Chant is credited with the scent, classified as a leather chypre. Cabotine followed in 1990. The fragrance licence was acquired in 2001, and the brand itself in 2007. Later releases linked perfume to the founder’s work: Madame Grès, launched in 2013, paid tribute to her sculptural treatment of fabrics, while Pièce Unique, launched in 2015, drew on the couture idea of an ideal dress made from a single piece of fabric.