Fragrance house

Ted Lapidus

Ted Lapidus was born in Paris on 23 June 1929 and founded his own fashion house in 1951. The house developed an identity shaped by marine, military-uniform and unisex influences, with an emblem derived from military medals transformed into anchor-and-fleur-de-lis buttons. Lapidus joined the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne in 1963, and his designs became associated with the Saharienne, or safari suit, the uniform look and unisex ready-to-wear. John Lennon commissioned Lapidus designs, including the white suit associated with the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover. Fragrances were launched in partnership with L’Oréal in 1970. Lapidus pour Homme, a popular men’s fragrance introduced in 1987, is one of the house’s best-known fragrance examples. A Ted Lapidus perfume license was signed in 1983, and Groupe Bogart acquired Ted Lapidus SA in 1998. After the acquisition, Ted Lapidus SA guided the brand’s development through license holders covering fashion, watches, fragrances and leather goods. Lapidus died in Cannes on 29 December 2008.