Hermès

About the house

Thierry Hermès founded the company in Paris in 1837, after an apprenticeship in Pont-Audemer, Normandy. The house was first known for leather saddles, then silk scarves and leather goods, and fragrance came much later. Charles-Émile Hermès moved the business to 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré.

The family has controlled the company since its founding. A descendant has run it apart from Patrick Thomas's years as CEO, 2003 to 2013. Jean-Louis Dumas led the company from 1978 until he retired in 2006, and Axel Dumas, of the sixth generation, has led it since 2013. It became a limited partnership in 1989 and listed on the stock exchange in 1993. In October 2010 LVMH acquired about 17.1% of Hermès; the family formed the holding company H51 in 2011, and a 2014 agreement ended the dispute. Bernard Arnault announced the sale of his remaining shares in 2017.

The first commercial Hermès fragrance was Eau d'Hermès, created by Edmond Roudnitska and sold in France in 1951. The house says it was inspired by the inside of a Hermès leather bag. Jean-Claude Ellena, described as profoundly influenced by Roudnitska, started the Jardins line in 2003 with Un Jardin en Méditerranée, followed by Un Jardin sur le Nil in 2005 and Après la Mousson in 2008. Terre d'Hermès, also by Ellena, launched in March 2006 to generally favorable reviews.

Christine Nagel joined in 2014 and in 2016 became the sole in-house perfumer and director of olfactive creations for Hermès Parfums. She was the second woman in an in-house perfumer role at a major luxury brand, after Mathilde Laurent at Cartier. Her releases include Galop d'Hermès in 2016, inspired by Doblis, a suede-like leather from the Hermès archive, and Twilly d'Hermès in 2017, which Tania Sanchez called "an androgynous fougere of fantastic beauty". The perfumes are produced in-house at Le Vaudreuil in Normandy.