Creed is a multi-national perfume house. Based in Paris, it was originally established and founded in England as a tailoring house in 1760 by James Henry Creed
Early history
Creed is a niche perfume house, which has boutiques in Paris, London, New York City, Beverly Hills, Dubai Mall, Kuwait, Vienna, Milan, and Miami 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 and his son Erwin Creed. James Henry Creed supposedly founded the House of Creed in London in 1760 as a tailoring establishment, however the earliest evidence of Creed's existence hark from the late 1960s or early 1970s. 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. 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.
Popular culture
Creed has stated that it has created perfumes exclusively for celebrities and well-known political figures. Creed claims that Tabarome Millesime "was commissioned by a legendary British statesman who loved fine brandy and highest quality cigars" but this is without historical confirmation.. 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".
Controversy
Due to a lack of traceable historical evidence, there is much skepticism on the authenticity of Creed's historical background. As shown by collectors and historians, no Creed perfume existing before 1975 has been found.
Mainstream success
Creed's mainstream breakthrough success came in the mid-1980s with the fresh fougère fragrance Green Irish Tweed, an eau de parfum composed by Olivier Creed. The first trademark for Creed perfume was registered in 1979 in France. Creed's marketing masterpiece, the fragrance Aventus has seen good commercial success. Erwin Creed stated that the popularity of Aventus enabled Creed to open its New York boutique location.
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 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 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 Tabarome.
