FRENCH PERFUME HISTORY

Although the French knew about perfume prior to the 17th century, French perfume history seems to have its official beginnings in the 16OO's, when perfumed gloves began gaining popularity throughout France. Leather, tanning and glove production had been centered in Grasse, a town near Cannes, France since the 13th century, so it made perfect sense that perfume makers come to the area for their collaborative efforts. It wasn't long, however, that the French perfume business soon surpassed the leather industry and Grasse achieved its place in French perfume history as "the perfume capital of the world."

As French perfume history tells it, perfumers and apothecaries began to settle in Grasse, which is still home to French perfume factories Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard. The climate proved to be a perfect fit for growing flowers and the French perfume industry flourished. Until the 1900's, however, French Perfumes were still very expensive and considered to be a luxury item reserved for the very wealthy.

In the 1900's, François Coty made his way into French perfume history, and forever changed the industry. Coty, a first cousin to Napoleon de Bonaparte, founded his French perfume company in 1904 and by 1910 he was recognized as the #1 perfumer in the world. Coty is said to have made his first million within four months of initiating sales of his French Perfumes, and although sales lagged during the war, the war's end brought a resurgence when American soldiers brought Coty's French Perfumes home to the US as gifts for their wives, mothers and girlfriends. Coty then once again broadened his reach by reducing prices and making French perfume available to the general consumer. As French perfume history tells it, he had amassed a tremendous fortune by the 1920's.

Mass production paved the way for others to make their way into French perfume history. The still famous Chanel No. 5 was launched in the early 1920's, followed by Jean Patou's celebrated Joy in the mid 1930's. Surely the continued popularity of these French perfume makers inspired French designers to take a chance in becoming part of French perfume history, as shown by such designers as Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior and Nina Ricci.