Creed (perfume)

Creed boutique on Madison Avenue in New York

Creed is a Paris-based perfume house. It was originally established as a tailoring house in 1760 in London by the antecedents of Charles Creed, and became known for fragrances from the 1960s.

History

Creed is a niche perfume house, which has boutiques in Paris, New York City, and Dubai Mall, in addition to stands in high end retailers across the world. The house purportedly creates its perfumes in-house by two perfumers: a father and his son. The current generation consists of Olivier Creed (who is credited for Green Irish Tweed, Millesime Imperial, Silver Mountain Water and Aventus among others) and his son Erwin Creed.

James Henry Creed founded the House of Creed in London in 1760 as a tailoring establishment.[1] It rose to fame in the mid 19th century under Henry Creed as tailors and habit makers for the fashionable dandy Count d'Orsay, Queen Victoria, and Empress Eugénie, who issued the firm of Creed & Cumberland a Royal Warrant for tailoring articles.[2] Olivier Creed's first eponymously named fragrance was a traditional eau de cologne with matching aftershave. Its release date is unknown, although bottles are still in circulation. Creed also has other high-profile creations in its catalog such as Angelique Encens, which was said to have been originally created in 1933 for the Bishop of Paris.[3]

Creed has stated that it has created perfumes exclusively for celebrities and well-known political figures. Creed claims that Tabarome Millesime (2000) "was commissioned by a legendary British statesman who loved fine brandy and highest quality cigars" (presumably Winston Churchill).[4] Also, Creed's Vetiver is marketed to have been created for "one of America's leading families, a political dynasty now known worldwide for its energy, vigor, and impeccable style" (presumably the Kennedy family).[5]

Controversy

Due to a lack of traceable historical evidence, there has been some skepticism on the authenticity of Creed's historical background. As shown by collectors and historians, no Creed perfume existing before 1975 has been found.[6]

Mainstream success

Creed's mainstream breakthrough success came in the mid-1980s with the fresh fougère fragrance Green Irish Tweed (1985), an eau de parfum composed by Olivier Creed. Notable users include Andy Arnold, Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone.

Recently, Creed's fresh fruit and musk fragrance Aventus (2010) has seen widespread commercial success. Erwin Creed stated that the popularity of Aventus enabled Creed to open its New York boutique location.[7]

List of publicly released fragrances

Creed claims to make fragrances exclusively for their clients that are not available to their customers and that some of those fragrances are later released to the public. This is a list of the Creed fragrances that are (or were) sold to the general public.

Many of the fragrances on this list are not currently sold by Creed or authorized retailers because they were discontinued. Creed often discontinues ("vaults") fragrances. For example, Green Valley used to be a mainstream release but is no longer sold by Creed. Creed also claims to re-release fragrances that were created by the family many years ago in previous generations. Examples of this would include Selection Verte and (Vintage) Tabarome.

  • 2000 Fleurs
  • Acier Aluminium
  • Acqua Fiorentina
  • Amalfi Flowers [8]
  • Ambre Cannelle
  • Angélique Encens
  • Aubepine Acacia
  • Aventus
  • Baie De Genievre
  • Bayrhum Vetiver
  • Bois De Cedrat
  • Bois De Santal
  • Bois Du Portugal
  • Chevrefeuille
  • Citrus Bigarrade
  • Cuir de Russie [9]
  • Cypres Musc
  • Epicea
  • Erolfa
  • Fantasia De Fleurs
  • Feuilles Vertes
  • Fleurs De Gardenia
  • Fleur De Thé Rose Bulgare
  • Fleurissimo
  • Fleurs De Bulgarie
  • Green Irish Tweed
  • Green Valley
  • Herbe Marine [10]
  • Himalaya
  • Imperatrice Eugenie [11]
  • Irisia
  • Jardin D'Amalfi
  • Jasmal
  • Jasmin Imperatrice Eugenie
  • Les Floralies
  • Love In Black
  • Love In White
  • Millesime 1849
  • Millesime Imperial
  • Neroli Sauvage
  • Olivier Creed Eau de Cologne/Toilette (not fully confirmed) [12][13]
  • Orange Spice
  • Original Santal
  • Original Vetiver
  • Private Collection Tabarome
  • Pure White Cologne
  • Rosalie
  • Royal Ceylan
  • Royal Delight
  • Royal English Leather
  • Royal Oud
  • Royal Service
  • Royal Scottish Lavender
  • Royal Water
  • Santal Imperial
  • Scent of Oger
  • Selection Verte
  • Silver Mountain Water
  • Spice and Wood
  • Spring Flower
  • Sublime Vanille
  • Tabarome Millesime
  • Tubereuse Indiana
  • Vanisia
  • Verveine Narcisse
  • Vetiver
  • Virgin Island Water
  • White Flowers
  • Windsor
  • Ylang Jonquille [14][15]
  • Zeste Mandarine [16]
  • Zeste Mandarine Pamplemousse

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://perfumedpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/06/making-history-iii-usable-pasts-of.html
  2. ↑ Charles Creed, Maid to Measure (London, 1961)
  3. ↑ An interview with Erwin Creed - KA Magazine: http://kaonlinemagazine.com/ka-profiles/interview-with-young-mr-creed/
  4. ↑ http://www.creedboutique.com/creed-perfume-for-men/30-creed-tabarome-millesime.html.
  5. ↑ http://www.creedboutique.com/creed-vaulted-scents/46-creed-perfume-vetiver.html
  6. ↑ Edwards, Michael. Fragrances of the World.
  7. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ9W5QURIv8&t=2m14s
  8. ↑ http://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Creed.html
  9. ↑ http://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Creed.html
  10. ↑ http://www.basenotes.net/t/370362/creed-herbe-marine
  11. ↑ http://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Creed.html
  12. ↑ http://www.basenotes.net/t/194962/oliver-creed-eau-de-cologne-for-men-vintage-rare
  13. ↑ http://www.basenotes.net/t/195346/oliver-creed-edt-vintage-extremely-rare
  14. ↑ http://www.basenotes.net/t/284365/creed-ylang-jonquilles-private-collection-for-marie-osmond
  15. ↑ http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CREED-YLANG-JONQUILLE-8-4-OZ-250-ML-GREEN-FLACON-VERY-RARE-ALMOST-FULL-/261736301959
  16. ↑ http://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Creed.html

External links

Media related to Creed (perfume) at Wikimedia Commons