Grès

The name Gres comes from a woman called Germaine Emilie Krebs. She was born in 1903, and originally wanted to become a sculptor or ballerina. She began making hats and in 1932 opened her first fashion house, Alex Couture.

Madame Gres understood women’s clothing as a work of art and tested the fabric directly on the models. Gres soon became a symbol for elegant clothes. They dressed some famous names – among them Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Dolores del Río, Lady Deterling, and many others. From 1942 she began working under the name Gres.

The first perfume for women by Gres came out in 1959 and was called Cabochard. In 1982, Gres was forced to sell the perfume business, which eventually happened in 1984. The owners changed. Today the company is based in Switzerland but still has several dozen original fragrances.