Fragonard, a family and fragrance story
Fragonard perfumery was founded in 1926 by Eugène Fuchs, a former notary, in the heart of Grasse, now considered the world's perfume capital. The founder decided to name the perfumery as a tribute to Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), a great French painter of the eighteenth century, born in Grasse. The concept is simple: sell live scented products to tourists who come to discover the Riviera and its many charms. Since then, the company has remained in the Fuchs family, since it has been taken over by the following generations: Eugène Fuchs' grandson, Jean-François Costa, took up the torch in the 1970s, followed today by his three daughters, Agnes, Anne and Francoise Costa.
Fragonard and his creations immediately successful
In 1930, Fragonard launched "Billet doux", a fragrance built around flowers such as peony, poet's carnation and frangipani flower, but also citrus fruits, all on a woody cedar background with a vanilla note. In the same year, Fragonard launched "Stolen Moment", which is also very successful. So much so that the Grasse company opened its first Parisian boutique in 1936, rue Scribe, now the Fragonard Fragrance Museum. The creations continue with "Belle de nuit", a fragrance "precious as the thousand and one night", created in 1946.
Fragonard enters the modern era
In the 1990s and 2000s, new creations were born: "Soleil", launched in 1996, is a beautiful homage to the landscapes of Provence bathed in warmth and light; "Beautiful kid", a woody fragrance aquatic, takes the side of a very masculine fragrance, where spices and woods marry aquatic notes. In 2005, the perfume simply called "Fragonard" is a luminous homage to femininity. In 2005, a new version of the "Water of Hungary", originally a fragrance of the fourteenth century. The same year, "Just a kiss" is dedicated to young and sassy women: a fresh and gourmet wedding based on mandarin, pear, violet, blackberry and strawberry on a vanilla and amber background. In 2006, a reissue of "Billet doux", the first Fragonard creation, celebrates the 80th anniversary of Grasse perfumery. It is followed by "Étoile", in 2009, a floral woody scent with notes of bergamot, lemon, ginger and apple. Today, under the leadership of its three leaders, Fragonard has decided to play the card of diversification: the house has in particular launched the sale of objects and clothing, in the "Fragonard style" as well as in the development of cultural events in the various Fragonard museums in Paris and Grasse.
